Star Fox: Universe : Season 1
by Bryyo
Summary: When an experiment goes wrong and sends a Federation Bounty Hunter into the Lylat system, a number of things begin to go completely wrong! How will Corneria react to their new visitors and cope with a human presence?
1. Notes

Season 1: 闇の中で

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Hey guys! I've decided I might as well post this back up anyway. I'm going to go by my first idea and separate the seasons for now. As time isn't exactly on my side as of late, Any new updates will be slow and spaced apart for season 2. Hope you guys enjoy season 1.

This season is actually very experimental for me, being my first project as a fan fiction. Comments and criticisms are welcome, and thanks to people who've been loyal to the story.

The Basics: This story is a Star Fox / Metroid inspired story to begin with. I only intend for Samus herself to be mentioned in this story but not play a direct role just yet if at all.

Originally I had planned for Lyle/Aeyr to be the main character traveling along the different Nintendo Universes similar to the Kingdom Hearts fashion but have decided against that and thought it'd be best to keep the "space worlds" of the series connected. In the end I believe it works out better this way!

Again, I hope you all enjoy the "return" of season 1 and that I keep some of you all for Season 2.


	2. 01: Crashing Through the Stars! A New Vi

Star Fox : Universe

Star Fox:Universe

Episode 1

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**Crashing Through the Stars! A New Visitor Arrives!

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_Notes: This is my first attempt at a fan fiction really, though I've had ideas before. I just never thought about writing them. Wasn't until I read a few Fan fics here that I decided to give it a shot._

_Will be blending a few themes from Nintendo into this ;p

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Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

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The warning on his visor reminded him that his surrounding environment posed a threat to him even though he was secured in the safety of his power suit. It was obvious; it was space. There was no air to breathe and if anything ruptured his armor the vacuum would have had him done for, though that possibility was unlikely. He cautiously made his way to the illuminated door in front of him and, after making sure that no one was on the other side, opened it.

The door locked as he entered, the room slowly depressurizing and adjusting to the artificial gravity of the ship he had snuck onto. Unless security was lax, his entrance was probably already notified and troops were heading his way, something he was sure would happen, but things would have been too boring if there wasn't any fight in it at all.

"_Alright...next room is empty as well.._," He realized as the next door opened. To his right was a large grill covering an air vent. Hesitantly, he lifted his left hand and watched as the grill glow a slight blue. With one flick of his wrist, it ripped off its hinges and onto the floor next to him, the metallic clang echoing through the small corridor. Thinking the noise would have alerted someone, he hid behind the vent and peered through the corner only to see that no one was coming. "_Perhaps security really is lax.."_

He straightened out his right arm and allowed the arm cannon that was placed there teleport back into his suit, revealing his armored hand and arm - it would have been too bulky and too much of a hassle to deal with when crawling through the vents. After pressing a button on his helmet, a map appeared on his visor pointing out the direction he wanted to go. Making some noise was unavoidable however, with the metals of his armor rubbing against that of the walls which surrounded him, something that could possibly give away his position but it was something that had to be worried about later.

After a while his guide alerted him that the current path he was taking was at an end, and that further investigation would have to be done outside the supposed safety of shaft. The nearest opening would be near him within a few meters, he was already able to see the light seeping through the grill. He waited by this opening, as two figures walked by. He didn't bother translating their conversation but with their outfits he assumed they were from the science division.

"_Good, looks like those blueprints I found were correct after all_," he mused, remembering that he had gotten them from a rather unreliable source.

After a few moments of silence, he did the same routine as with the previous grill and was out in the hall, this one better lit than the previous one. He allowed the arm cannon to regain its proper spot equipped on his right arm, and began to run through the hall. This one wasn't a straight one as before, however, it lead to a fork and from that even more directions to go. Despite this, he took a right as his map informed him.

Before he could get too far however, the nearest door opened up and he was immediately met with the startled expression of the creature in front of him. It quickly reached for a blaster tethered to his waist, but he was too slow. By the time he had it ready to fire it was knocked away from his hand and the arm cannon heavily swung across his face, blood spraying the walls as his nose was broken.

"_Well there's SOME action_," he thought as he dragged the unconscious figure into the room it had came from. It was a small lab of sorts. Nothing too fancy, just a monitoring terminal and a few screens. A wonderful place to get information! Perhaps he didn't need to get to his target destination after all. Allowing his scanner to do most of the work, he skimmed through all the seemingly unnecessary files and picked up the ones that related to what his mission was about. "Intergalactic teleportation", "Wormhole theories", and even an entry that was recently added, probably by the creature laying on the floor. The translation read:

( The Test is about to commence. All operating members were informed to head toward the central lab yet I'm stuck here doing back up checks and the whole lot! How typical, once again they leave me out on the main event! That's the only reason why I chose to stay on this frigate rather than the other two! Ugh! It makes me angry, just knowing that Dr. Raynard is there with that smug look on his face, taking all the credit for what was a majority of my work! Well, I'll see who gets the credit now when they realize that the recharge for the gate would take years! Not to mention that no one knows of the hazards that are on the other side. Those fools will be subject to their own blind ambition and once it all messes up they'll then come running to me! )

Swell, it meant that he had arrived as a test was going to be done and the ship he was currently on was going to be the guinea pig. The idea of being thrust into some unknown area of the universe was not appealing to him at all. Besides, this information as well as the few others he downloaded would be sufficient to satisfy his employer, so it'd be best if he made a quick escape. But just then something caught his eye on the monitor. He squinted to make sure he was reading correctly.

"The Cloning and Distributing of the Ridley Clones"

This wasn't good news at all! He decided to copy the file as well and to check it later. The pirate scientist to his left was beginning to come to as he was leaving. Just as he managed to make his way into the ventilation shaft the alarm began to ring; its loud screeching constantly repeating along with the red light that kept flashing. Escape was now the top priority and he didn't care how it was done now. He kicked away the nearest grill and was encountered by two lightly armed pirates, easily taken down by two shots by his cannon. The map readjusted to a shorter route and soon enough he was back in the depressurizing room, only, it was guarded now by three pirates, better armed than their friends before.

"Don't let him escape! Shoot him down now!" one of them barked as the others began to fire. The shielding on his armor bounced the fire harmlessly away and he fired in return, striking down two of the three pirates out cold. He didn't have time to deal with this. It was a reckless move but he slammed his left hand onto the control panel nearby and watched the door behind the pirate open, the vacuum of space pulling them all outside.

The pirates were instantly killed, but now he was floating out, being pulled away from his ship from the initial force that pulled him out. He flexed out his left arm, allowing an electronic grapple cling onto one of the rails on his ship and he slowly made his way back to it. As he entered he noticed that a large, purple beam was now being emitted from the frigate, and before it, a large gaping, black hole, and even worse, the ship was already heading into it at full speed.

"No, no, NO!" he shouted out loud, trying to get his ship to take off before being pulled in, but by now it was already too late. His ship clumsily lumbered out of its current landing spot and began to shake violently by the turbulent storm the inside of the wormhole was creating. Despite all his efforts he could not gain any control of the ship, in fact, everything he did seem to make it worse. With as quick as his entrance had been, it also didn't last long and soon he found himself as well as the frigate outside of the wormhole, which was now quickly closing until nothing of the purple outline remained. His ship refused to tame it self, and all he could do was watch helplessly as he was being directed into the nearest planet. The only thing he could do was set up a shield around the ship as it plummeted into the planet below.

* * *

It was big on the news everywhere in Corneria. Scientists had reported a terrible disturbance just outside of the planet just as a meteor crashed onto the surface of a cliff near Corneria City. There were no reported injuries or deaths but the cause was being investigated. And no one else but Slippy could have been more excited.

"And since when did we become a clean up crew for the government?" Falco exclaimed with some disdain. "You'd think they'd send someone else more fitting for this type of job!"

"Which is why they sent us," replied Fox, who merely made a small grin at his partner. "If anything happens to be bizarre about this meteor we're the best ones to handle it."

"This is amazing! An unidentified meteor from an unknown place in space! I can't wait to see it!" Slippy said excitedly.

"Hah!" Falco grinned. "Only you Slippy would be excited over something like this."

"Ah c'mon Falco! Of course I would! This could possibly be the first meteor named after me! It's been years since any have crashed onto Corneria!" He contined to fiddle with his tablet computer which he had been carrying.

And Slippy had made a good point. Usually if any astral object was on an intercept course onto the planet it would have normally been prevented by the military, but this one had caught everyone off guard with its sudden appearance.

The vehicle came to a stop shortly after. "This is the closest I can get to it, guys," the driver exclaimed. "The crater is pretty wide, so be careful out there."

"This is fine, thanks," answered Fox. "Stay here for now until we're sure the area is safe."

"Sure thing."

The three Star Fox members got out, led by Fox. He stopped by the craters rim and let the view sink in. It wasn't as large as the driver had made it out to be. Taking a step back to better examine it, he noticed that the further the crater went ahead the deeper the depth got. "Slippy -"

"I noticed," he finished, also looking at the angle the meteor crashed. "Bizarre angle for something to crash at."

"Hey guys, check this out," Falco shouted a few yards away. The other two rushed up to him as he lifted up what looked like a broken sheet of metal. "Don't think meteors drop this kind of alloy, eh?"

"I'll examine it, you two check out the rock," said Slippy as he knelt down to the metal sheet, pressing a few buttons on his tablet.

Fox nodded and walked ahead along with Falco. The meteor was shaped sort of like an oval, though there were jagged edges on the sides. He walked up closer to it and placed a hand on the side and allowed the dirt to crumble away, revealing a smoother, solid core. "Guys, this is no meteor. I think this is some kind of ship!"

"But from where?" Falco asked.

"Who knows?" Fox shrugged. He looked around for a way to climb up and made his way above the destroyed ship. The top layer was covered thickly by the dirt and debris, and it seemed some of it had melted solid from the heat of the ship. He looked up and saw that Slippy had rejoined the two of them. "Falco get up here and gimme a hand moving off some of this dirt. Slippy, anything new?"

Falco nodded and made his way to him as Slippy shook his head. "It's some sort of metal alright, but the type of alloy is unknown to our computer. It seems pretty resilient but I guess the impact or gravity tore it up." He looked up at the others who were struggling removing the layer of dirt from the top with their bare hands. "Need anything, guys?"

"Perhaps a shovel of some sorts," Falco said. "Better yet, toss up one of our beam knives, it should cut through this."

"Sure thing," Slippy replied as he ran off back to the vehicle.

Fox yawned as he wiped the sweat running down his face. "Didn't think the dirt would harden up like this. Let's just wait for Slippy."

"Yeah, whatever." Falco jumped back down to the ground, but as he did, the ship began to tremble. The top layer of hardened dirt began to crack, and Fox fell down unable to keep his balance. Before them, the ship had opened its cockpit, and a few seconds later, began to fall apart, as piece by piece the ship disassembled into rubble and a fairly large object fell to the ground, slowly getting buried within the debris. "Something came out! Quick, pull it out!"

There was no need to say it twice and both he and Fox grabbed the object out by what was an arm and away from the rest of the ship as it finished it's collapse. There wasn't anything really worth much left besides the large sheets of thick metal which had disassembled everywhere. It was then they had a better look at what they salvaged.

"Its...some kind of robot," Fox explained. "But I've never seen any of this design before...perhaps this thing really is alien."

"I'd say," Falco agreed. "Thing looks taller than both of us. Doesn't look like it's working though...we should let Slippy take a look at it back at base."

"Hah, he may not have had a meteor named after him but seems like he'll get a new toy from it after all," Fox said with a smirk. He pressed a button on his communicator that was on the right of his helmet. "Slippy, the meteor, er, ship is gone, broke apart. But we've found some robot from the debris. We're returning to base for now, tell the driver to get ready."

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All he knew at the moment he woke up was that his head was throbbing in pain. He gave a grunt and was surprised when he heard a gasp nearby. His vision wasn't entirely clear yet but all he could make out at the moment was that there was some sort of green creature in front of him. But as his vision cleared he saw that it was a frog. A really BIG frog in fact, who was wearing some sort of yellow suit along with a hat. It said something but it didn't register into his head at the moment, he was too dizzy. However he did take the time to survey his surroundings. He was leaning his back next to a wall, his arm cannon unequipped, probably something he had to adjust, despite the low power he had remaining. The room he was currently in looked like a mess. Many robotic parts lay scattered on nearby tables and even on the floor. There were mechanical tools nearby as well as what looked like some sort of aircraft in the distance. His scanner told him there was nothing hazardous around and the environment was safe.

"Hey!? Are you awake there?"

He jumped a bit, almost forgetting there was a creature in front of him. Not only that, but it spoke in English. And...it was a frog! "...Hai," He replied, deciding it best to mask his language at the moment.

"Ah! Hi there too!" it replied excitedly. It even LOOKED excited. How very bizarre for a frog... "You seem ok! My scanners don't report any major injuries to your body, but your ship fell apart to bits. It's a good thing your a robot! Anything living would have died from that impact!"

A robot huh? He smiled in the saftey of his helmet. His armor suit was obviously playing a good disguise for him at the moment. However, his ship breaking apart wasn't good news. It meant he was stranded in this place with this...person. Before it began to speak again, a nearby door opened, and in came a walking Fox creature, as well as a bird.

_This just keeps getting more bizarre..._

"Fox the robot woke up! It still works!" The frog exclaimed excitedly. "It even said hi to me!"

He grinned again, obviously knowing the frog mistook what he said.

"Well that's good, Slippy," said the fox. "Perhaps now we can introduce ourselves. My name is Fox McCloud."

_Fox...how original..._

"This is Falco," he pointed to the bird who gave a slight nod, "and this is Slippy." The frog giggled. "We're better known as Star Fox. We found you nearby our city, your ship destroyed."

"sou ne..," he replied. Seeing that they didn't understand he continued with, "My name is Aeyr, and I'm a robot from a distant galaxy..."

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Next Episode: The Machine from Afar and the Foreign Ambassador

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Along with Aeyr's sudden appearance in Corneira come visitors from another part of the Universe as well! How will Star Fox crew and friends react?! And just what is keeping Fox and the others so depressed?

_Notes: Yes if you noticed, there already is an influence from Metroid in this story. What the pirates are truly up to will have to be seen later. As for using Japanese, I had originally intended for the Star Fox crew to speak in a foreign language but since "STAR FOX" as well as other logos are often already displayed on ships in English it would've caused some problems. Also, though Star Fox and crew themselves should be speaking in Japanese, it wouldn't make the story "readable" so I had it that only Aeyr himself would speak it._

_Comments and Constructive Criticism would be nice._


	3. 02: The Machine from Afar and the Foreig

Star Fox: Universe

Episode 2

Note: Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

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The Machine from Afar and the Foreign Ambassador

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"Air is a weird name for a robot," Slippy mused.

"What kind of name is Slippy for a frog?" Aeyr shot back, not putting much humor into it.

"Hah! The robot has an attitude, I like that," Falco said.

"Well I'll let Slippy check up on you for now," Fox began. "I'm gonna take care of some business for now. Slippy, after maintenance we'll attempt an interrogation later." Slippy gave a nod as Fox made his exit.

_"How curt,_" thought Aeyr.

"He's been hiding it well lately, but you know it still bothers him," Falco muttered. "To think it's tomorrow..."

"Yeah..," replied Slippy. "Anyway," he directed his gaze toward Aeyr, "I can help you with maintenance if necessary."

"Everything checks out ok," Aeyr answered, not wanting him to toy with his armor, or deactivating it.

"If I can stand," He attempted to get up. It took some effort but he eventually was on his two feet. "There, everything should be working well now."

He realized that he stood a good three or four inches taller than Falco, even more inches on Slippy. Despite their width he felt really skinny and lanky in comparison. He'll have to get used to being the odd one..regardless of his opinions on his odd acquaintances. "I'd like to be alone for a few to..perform self maintenance really, if you don't mind."

"Ah, sure thing!" said Slippy, who nodded at Falco as they both left.

The first thing Aeyr did was sit back down, this time on a nearby chair, though it was obviously set for Slippy as he sank lower than he expected. Quite frankly he considered himself surrounded by walking, talking stuffed animals. He placed a hand on his head, still a bit dizzy from the crash. Looking around, his scanner was telling him that the best route of escape would be out the hanger doors, despite it being a few stories above ground, nothing too bad. It also recommended him to rest, something he considered top priority at the moment, seeing as how none of his acquaintances had done any damage to him. Still, he'd rather not be bothered while napping.

The truth was that before crash landing onto the planet, Aeyr had no choice but to generate a telepathic force field around him and the ship. The result was that the radiation heavily weakened his ship, and after impact, due to the mental strain, he was left unconscious. He was unsure how long he was out, but when he came to, well, he was in some sort of fairy tale with talking animals. He assumed he was probably being too prejudiced seeing as how he was usually confronted by monstrous beings or other humans. And then he was struck with a thought that surprised him. He went up toward a nearby mirror and allowed his helmet to telepathically vanish, revealing his human face. He still had his dark hair and blue eyes...he didn't turn into some animal. How silly of him to think so...he replaced his helmet, making sure the visor would keep his eyes hidden.

The door opened once more. Aeyr turned around and saw that it was just Slippy, smiling as he looked at him, if his large grin for a frog could be considered a smile anyway. "All set?"

"Yeah...everything is functioning normally," which was true, his suit didn't show any problems.

"Thats great! I have to confess, I didn't really know how I could be of help to you. You armor plating is very strong so I couldn't really do anything, but you seem to be functioning normally."

Good to know. "So your friend, Fox, I believe. He spoke of some sort of interrogation. May I ask why?"

"Eh, well," Slippy seemed to think about how to word what he was trying to say. "When you crash landed here, there were no trace of where you came from. You just happened to appear. It had many of our scientists shocked and confused."

"So there is more of your kind?"

"Kind?" He seemed stunned by the remark. "Oh! Yes! Of course! There are more people out there like me, and Fox and so on. Corneria City is the most populated place on Corneria!"

"I see..." So this was in fact a civilization of...animals. "If you don't mind, I would like to sleep...go into standby. I could still use more rest. If possible may I get someplace private?"

This seemed to bother Slippy. "Well...I'm not sure if Fox would agree..he still thinks you could be some sort of threat. Leaving you alone for too long would be a bad idea."

_Not bad, Fox_. Apparently they really were very intelligent. He made a mental note to be cautious around Fox. "Very well," Aeyr replied, trying not to let his disappointment voice through. "I'll rest here for now." He returned to the corner of the room he was at before, sat down and leaned against the wall. Not the most comfortable position, but his head still hurt. Hopefully the frog wouldn't make too much noise, but all Aeyr heard was him typing on a nearby keyboard. The noise reminded him of his childhood days, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Though he appeared to be strong, with all his smiles and laughs, the truth was Fox really wasn't all that together. With the anniversary coming it meant he had to see Krystal once more. He wasn't really looking foward to it since both of them separated ways after a huge argument. Perhaps due to circumstances they can at least keep things civilized when they meet. He let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. At the moment he was standing outside of the Star Fox headquarters, overlooking a canal and the view of Corneria City.

"You know, you can't let this get to you."

Fox turned around to see Falco behind him, his arms crossed. "You've gone through a lot, I know, but a guy like you never let anything get to him like this," he continued.

"Easy for you to say, Falco." He turned back toward the view and sighed once more. "Just can't believe its been a year already..."

"It hasn't been easy on all of us," Falco replied sadly. "What time you meeting with Krystal tomorrow?"

"I don't know. We haven't really talked since then." He really wasn't up for calling her either. "Could you-"

"I already did. She said to meet her there at 10 tomorrow morning."

Fox made a wry smile. "Thanks Falco."

"Yeah yeah...just get it together, you hear?" The two of them remained there a while longer, the noon sun hanging lazily overhead a while longer.

* * *

"You two still haven't really talked about it haven't you?" Katt was sitting on a desk staring at her boots below her. The whole conversation between her and Krystal hadn't been a real happy one with the anniversary approaching.

Krystal looked away from her work toward her friend and gave her a sad smile. "No. I think he's still very..," she sighed, "very upset at a lot of things."

"Girl, you know things won't improve if you two don't talk! It's been almost a year since you two have been separated now. If you don't do something, you might loose him for good!"

All Krystal could do was look back at her computer monitor. Since the incident, she had dedicated her powers to healing and was currently a doctor at the Cornerian Hospital. Though she never really accepted the ideal of being called "doctor", she much preferred just being known as a healer. "I just, can't, Kattt. Too much has happened between us that it's just...too difficult. Besides, he couldn't even call me to schedule a time to meet tomorrow. Falco ended up doing it."

"Ah...Fox...whatever happened to you," Katt muttered, mostly to herself. Her communicator began to beep and she saw that it was from the General on her screen. Picking it up, "Hello? ...Yes? ...What? From where? ...Alright, alright, I'll be there." She turned to Krystal and gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry that I can't be with you at this time, but something has come up."

"It's alright," Krystal said without emotion. "We all have work to do anyway."

Katt Monroe had recently been promoted to a position where she worked directly with the government officials. The call had been sent to inform her that the Councilor Lane, a friend of hers since her childhood, was going to be meeting with an ambassador from an alien race who had happened to have found themselves lost. Whenever a situation like this happened, it was typical of Lane to call for Katt for support, despite her never really getting involved with the conversations. She waved for a taxi and was on her way toward the capital. Fortunately traffic wasn't too bad and she arrived at her destination fairly quickly. She noticed Lane was already waiting for her outside.

"Oh thank goodness you've come!" She exclaimed quite nervously. Like Katt, she too was of a feline race, though her fur was that of a luxurious blue rather than Katt's pink. "We don't know who these people are but they've sent someone to discuss a few dealings."

"Lane, you know you're a big cat now, you don't really need me around you all the time!" Katt said mockingly. "It's not like you haven't dealt with ambassadors before, right?"

Lane gave a nervous sigh as they began making their way inside the capitol. "I know and I'm sorry, but these guys are kind of creepy I get too nervous without a friendly face nearby!" This coming from a leader of Corneira.

As they made their way through the corridors and into the discussion room, Katt soon realized that Lane wasn't joking in how creepy their guests were. In fact intimidating would've been the correct word. As she took a seat next to her friend, she took the chance to get a better look at the three creatures across from her. The central figure was seated on the table and was guarded by two others who held some sort of blaster. They looked as if they were insect like, or reptilian. It wasn't easy to tell with the way their bodies were shaped. The armor the two guards looked more plasma based, and was transparent. Probably more so to deflect shots. Katt was glad that there were their own guards surrounding the room around them, though their weaponry looking not as impressive.

"It's good to meet with you, Councilor" the central creature spoke in quite a hoarse voice it added more to their intimidation.

"The pleasure is all mine. I am Councilor Lane," Lane replied, trying to hide the quiver in her voice. "If you may forgive me, I didn't get the name of your race. May you please give it to me, as well as your reasons for your visit?"

Katt was glad her friend was managing to act strong. _Keep it up, _she thought.

"That is no problem," he replied. "Our species usually doesn't name itself," he confessed. "However, you may call us," he paused for a moment as if thinking, "Aranian."

"I appreciate it," Lane said. "Well Aranian Ambassador, what may we help you with?"

"Well," the ambassador scratched his head, "to be honest, we are not all to sure. While traveling through space, it seems our hyper drive, our wormhole, malfunctioned on us and we are, sadly, trapped in your system. We would very much appreciate it if we could receive some aid from your society. Materials, perhaps, to help us repair our warp technology and return home."

Quite a broad demand, thought Katt. They could've been a bit more specific in what aid they needed rather then leaving it the way they did. She glimpsed at Lane and assumed she was thinking the same thing.

"I apologize," she said. "This type of decision would require me to consult the rest of our Councils. I cannot give you a direct answer right now."

The Ambassador thought it over. "That is fair enough." He didn't sound pleased at all. "However, while we are here, we are also curious about your people. I assure you, we mean no one any harm as we are traveling race in search to further our knowledge. Perhaps someone could tour us around your realm? A guide of sorts?"

"That can be arranged," Lane said with a smile, trying her best to be welcoming. "However it'll have to wait till tomorrow when we can prepare to better suit your needs."

"We'd appreciate it," said the Ambassador as he stood up. "That would be all. We will be returning to our ship." They made their exit quick.

"Why did you allow them a tour?" Katt asked her friend who gave off a sigh of relief. "You never know what they truly could be up to. Showing them around our planet would give them time to build up a strategy."

"I know," Lane admitted. "But I'm required to appear as welcoming and showing our full cooperation when it comes down to these things. I'm just glad you made it here. I don't think I would've been able to handle that! They're quite frightening looking aren't they?"

"Well I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but something about them just doesn't seem right, I can assure you that."

* * *

"This is the living room for Star Fox members," Slippy said enthusiastically. At the moment he was giving Aeyr a tour of the whole building. The moment Aeyr had woken up Slippy immediately began badgering him with talk. Already he had seen the whole hanger bay, which was a lot larger than he first expected, as well as the strategy room and control room. "This is pretty much where we hang out, chat, watch TV, the works!"

"Sounds entertaining," Aeyr was growing accustomed to his modified speech by now. "Like from where I'm from, is it possible to watch recent events on this television?" Of course he knew the answer.

"Oh, sure! We can try that now!" He fumbled around the furniture and turned on the TV via a remote. "Oh look! It's about your crash!"

Aeyr focused onto what was being displayed on the screen.

"...the remains of a ship were found today by team Star Fox, and are assumed to be connected with the recent visit of the Aranians, who happened to have become lost in their quest for knowledge across the universe."

_Aranians? How great for them to name themselves that_, thought Aeyr as he silently laughed at the irony.

"Oh, does this mean you're from them? We could return you to your people if you'd like?"

"No!" His quick reply obviously startled the frog. "I mean...that is not necessary right now. I would like to learn more while I'm here...to make the best of my time, you could say." It almost sounded too human, but Slippy seemed to buy it. For being a supposed great mechanic he didn't have much sense it seemed.

"Well I suppose that's alright. No, it's great! I wanted to get to know more about you too anyway, seeing as how we are literally from different worlds!"

"I would like that too," which was the truth, since being in this foreign world the best thing to do was learn more about it, which would be easy from his new acquaintances. But then he realized he could easily get that data from the control room after he had a chance to hack it. And the moment he realized that, he knew the pirates could too. He'd have to make sure they didn't get that data...

"Oh Fox! Welcome home!"

Aeyr turned around and saw him. He didn't really get a good look at him before but now that he could, his first impulse was the pet him as he would a dog, though he knew it would have made him appear awkward, and who knew if petting was offensive for them! He couldn't help having a soft spot for pets, especially dog like ones. It took a second to realize that Fox was really weary about something. There was a tense air of worry around him that Aeyr didn't need to read his mind to figure out.

"Ah, I see your up again," Fox said. "I'm actually, a bit exhausted at the moment. You can do what you want just stay in the base. We'll talk tomorrow...Slip I'm gonna sleep. You know..big day tomorrow." He didn't really wait for a reply and made his way toward his room.

"Ah...alright," Slippy managed to say lightly. He turned toward Aeyr, "Well looks like your free for the night then! You can stay with me if you like! Or-"

"Actually, there looked to be a spare room. You wouldn't mind if I stayed there would you?" he asked, pointing at what seemed to be a vacant room. Aeyr was glad with the frog's generosity but didn't like how he was treating him like some sort of toy.

"Oh...right..yeah, I suppose that's fine. Would make sense I guess." Slippy noticed that Aeyr was now looking toward Fox's direction. "Don't bother about him, he'll be fine after tomorrow. It's just a big day for all of us."

* * *

Krystal was already waiting for Fox when he finally did arrive. She wore a black outfit in mourning whereas Fox remained in his usual wear: A gray jacket over his green outfit. "Your late, you know," she said shyly.

Fox scratched the back of his head. "Yeah...sorry." He felt a bit guilty not dressing for the occasion like she had. "I hear your a doctor now...that's great."

"It's alright. You know...ever since this happened, I just couldn't get rid of the urge to help people." She gave a sad look at him, but couldn't keep eye contact. "Well, shall we?"

"Yeah..."

They walked a bit into the large cemetery, passing quietly through all the tombstones that rose above the ground. Today was a beautiful day, fairly sunny with several clouds, the breeze gentle and cool for what normally would have been a hot summer day. Around them birds were chirping happily and flying around carelessly. In the distance, you could hear the gentle hum of vehicles, commuters going through their daily routine. But for these two, today wasn't normal, happy, or beautiful. For them, it was raining. No sun could shine into their life at this moment as they slowly approached the tombstone of their destination.

"I'm sorry kid," Fox managed to say, his voice shaking and tears in his eyes; Krystal already was crying. "I couldn't help you like I said I would..." He knelt down and patted the name written on the tombstone, as well as the arwing symbol that had been inscribed onto it. They were too preoccupied to notice Falco, Katt, Slippy and even Peppy making their way behind them.

It read:

Here lies Marcus McCloud, Beloved son of Fox and Krystal McCloud. The loss of innocence shall never be forgotten.

_**

* * *

Next Episode: The Mystic Blue Fox and Machine

* * *

  
**_

Krystal meets Aeyr for the first time and they both acknowledge each others telepathic powers! How will Aeyr manage to hide his identity?

_Don't expect many people to be happy with the idea of Marcus having been killed, but it was necessary to create some sort of tension between Krystal and Fox, something I'm planning on using and adjusting for later in the story._


	4. 03: The Mystic Blue fox and the Machine

Star Fox: Universe

Episode 3:

Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

* * *

**The Mystic Blue Fox and Machine

* * *

  
**

Everyone had left early that morning. Aeyr didn't know where to or for what reason, but it was the perfect opportunity for him to mess around with the control room. He had originally planned on doing so the night before but was surprised by a drunken bird who nearly mistook him for some sort of enemy. The ordeal was bothersome yet slightly amusing. He didn't bother remembering the access codes that Slippy had entered in before, as he merely allowed his suits computer to hack into it almost instantaneously.

It was a fairly large control room, with monitors along the front and side walls as well as access terminals below them. It wasn't as impressive as the types of controls he was accustomed to on his G.F. Frigate, but he had already established a form of disdain toward the Cornerians "primitiveness". He made his way to the central most console and allowed his suit scanner to quickly check all the files on the Star Fox net. Nothing seemed to be of major interest. Mostly just old mission data on local planets the team had done. It was a good education lesson, though Aeyr found their heroics typical. He had known of a lone Bounty Hunter doing far more by herself after all.

He made an effort, however, to get to know the geography of Corneria as well as download maps of the local planets. It was amazing how so many planets within the same system were capable of supporting life, something that was considered very rare! The Federation would be heavily interested in this sector for trade if he managed to make it back home.

He decided it was time to focus on what he really wanted to do; his education would have to wait, though it was likely Slippy would be eager to do it himself anyway. He allowed a firewall program from his suit to upload into the network. It was a sort of virus, and would quickly spread all over the planets network, blocking anything from receiving data from the planet from the outside. For now, it would slow the pirates down from whatever they were doing.

And last of all, to make sure he couldn't be traced. He uploaded another program to hide his location, and then deleted the security camera's log, so that Star Fox would not witness what he had done.

* * *

"It was nice of you to call for him," Katt said to Falco as they were paying their respects. "Although I really think he should have done it on his own."

"As if he would," Falco remarked. "He's been like that for the past few days since today was coming. You didn't expect him to step up and call her now did you?"

Katt let it sink in. "I suppose your right." The two of them got up and looked toward the direction of Krystal and Fox who had wandered away from them. "They still can't keep close together it seems," she said, noticing how apart Fox and Krystal were trying to remain.

"Whatever happened between those two is just that. Between those two. There's really nothing we can do about it now, is there?"

"Oh c'mon Falco! You could do better than that! I've been trying my hardest to get Krystal to keep in touch with him. Despite their son's death it is no reason for those two to stay away from each other!"

"Like I said, it's between those two."

"What they can't do," Peppy interrupted, "is let it go. The two of them have moved on in a way they've both chosen. Like Falco says, Katt, there really isn't anything we can do about it."

"But it's just too...sad!" she exclaimed unhappily.

"Well, the world is full of sad stories now is it?" Peppy replied sadly.

Yet it was true, the two of them hadn't really bothered trying to get together since the death of their son. It was an accident truly. Despite Krystal's demands that Fox settle down with her and their son, he had refused to find a local job and remained a mercenary with Star Fox. The result was that a criminal wishing for revenge took advantage of his family affair and attempted to ransom Krystal and Marcus. However, Krystal knew how to defend herself, and when things didn't appear to be working as initially planned, the criminal ended up taking Marcus and stealing an arwing to escape. The result was the ship had to be shot down, unfortunately taking Marcus down with him. It had left everyone devastated.

They both blamed each other for his death. Finding fault with everything one another did. Unable to cope with each other, they decided that going their separate ways would be best, Fox remaining a mercenary and Krystal taking up the job of a local Doctor, still traumatized that she couldn't do anything to help her son.

"So how is business?" Krystal finally asked after a long period of silence.

The question caught Fox off guard, who wasn't expecting her to want to talk. "It's been...the usual." He replied. "We found out that the meteor was actually a ship crash landing here...Slippy is playing with the robot we found inside."

"That's so typical of Slippy, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

Another long pause.

"He's taken his room for now..." Fox managed to say, not finding the need to describe who "he" was.

"I see..." Krystal and him met eyes for a while, examining each others sad expressions. "It's...odd, a robot requesting his own room?"

He let a short laugh escape him. "I thought the same. I...I never rearranged that room by the way.." he said, managing to get a small smile out of her.

"I haven't been over in a long time haven't I." She sighed. "You wouldn't mind if I tagged along...just for today?" She knew he wasn't expecting this request. "It's just...I don't want to be alone today."

"It's alright. It'll be a sort of reunion...all of us together again."

"Not all of us..."

"Ah...yeah," he regretted making that last comment. "Let's get on our way. We'll have lunch ready when we get back."

* * *

Their return was unexpected to Aeyr, who had been exploring the refrigerator before his hosts arrived. Imagine their bewilderment if a robot wanted to eat! He noticed that there were three new guests with Fox and the others this time. One was a hare, his age showing in his white fur. The other was a woman fox of blue fur, dressed in a black gown though her coloration struck him as odd. The outfit also looked awkward on her in his opinion but he couldn't judge their customs after just being there for a day. The last was a cat woman of pink fur, another odd discoloration.

They both noticed something about each other immediately and both Krystal and Aeyr exchanged glances. "Who is this lovely woman, if I may ask?" Aeyr said to cover his stare.

"Ah, Krystal, this is Aeyr," Fox introduced them. "He's the robot we found at the wreckage site."

"I'm pleased to meet you," she answered, though despite her sad expression, she had a hint of curiosity in her.

"A robot from an unknown place! So you must be related with those Aranians then?" The cat woman inquired. "We met with them the other day. Quite an intimidating bunch if I must say so."

_You honestly don't know_, thought Aeyr. "No, I am not with them, you could say. However I did travel with them."

Slippy decided to speak up from here. "He wants to stay with us a bit to learn about our culture."

The cat gave him a quizzical look. "Of course you do. Someone from the department is actually giving a tour to the Aranian Ambassador as we speak. How interesting how curious you and they are! Is this a shared trait?"

"I apologize, it's only in my nature to learn the unknown," Aeyr replied. He'll have to avoid this one if he didn't want anymore trouble. "Ah and you?" He turned to Peppy.

"Ah! I'm Peppy Hare, an ex-member of Star Fox. I'm too old for this stuff, so all I do now is keep an eye of things from down here. Was promoted to general recently if I should say!"

"Augh, can we just go and eat!" Falco complained. "The old geezer will sooner be telling us his story before then!"

"Ah, shucks, Falco," the hare rubbed his chin. "Well I guess I'll entertain our guest while we eat then."

They were mostly war stories. The rabbit really liked to indulge in them also! If Aeyr hadn't needed to put on the robotic act he would've slouched sooner. Not to mention that everyone around him was eating, and he was starving. Everyone else would help in points where Peppy seemed to have problems recalling, but Fox remained silent, eating slowly. Krystal, on the other hand, had been keeping her gaze on him. Aeyr didn't understand what was bothering her but chose to disregard it for now. Once everyone had left he decided to try and take some food from their storage.

"We were quite surprised when Katt here showed up on Zoness like she did," Peppy went on, still talking about his story.

"Ah c'mon, you know my help was very much needed," Katt teased.

"We had everything undercontrol you know!" Falco disagreed.

"HAH! C'mon Fox, you can vouch for me can't you?"

"Huh?" Fox seemed to have been caught by surprise. "Oh...yeah, thanks a lot Katt."

Everyone at the table remained silent for a few moments, a few of them looking sadly at Fox or at their empty plates.

"If you would excuse me?" Aeyr finally interrupted. "I'd like to go back to my quarters and check on a few things." No one seemed to care at the moment, so he just got up and headed back into the room. In the daylight, it was easier to see that the room was painted a light blue. The borders were decorated with what looked to be airships and the bed was pretty small; it looked more like a small couch to him.

"It was our son's room," Krystal said, surprising him. He turned around to face her, though her attention seemed to be on the room itself. "Fox's and mine. He died...last year on this date, if you were wondering."

_So that explains why everyone had left earlier_. "I see. I'm sorry for your loss."

She nodded, and Aeyr noticed her place down a tray of food on top of the dresser, then as she was shutting the door, "Your not really a robot are you?"

He didn't know how to react for a few seconds, but then lifted his right arm to her direction, the arm cannon now equipped. Yet, as he did this, she had somehow managed to pull out what looked like a long staff out of no where, this aimed at him, his scanner increasing the danger warning to moderate. "Touché," he replied. "So how did you figure it out?"

"Easy, you were giving off too many telepathic vibes," she answered.

Of course! That would explain the sensation he had earlier with her. "So I was careless. But what do you intend to do?" He wanted her to feel as if he had the advantage.

"I suppose there isn't anything I could do now is there?" She lowered her weapon and shook her head, it vanishing somewhere unknown. She apparently had a few tricks up her sleeve as well. "At least give me some answers then. You do not intend to harm anyone here, I've managed to figure out that much."

Aeyr rarely was in the company of other telepaths so this had in fact caught him off guard, but since she lowered her weapon he decided it'd be best to comply with her requests. He lowered his arm, and the cannon unequipped, vanishing once more. "I can't give you a full answer, but you are right. I don't intend to harm anyone unless deemed necessary. However, I am, in fact, in disguise for a reason and I would like to keep it that way." He said the last part a bit threateningly so she would get the point.

"I know you undercover types," she replied. I was once a member in Star Fox too. I know how these things work." She looked at him closely then at the food on top of the dresser. "You were complaining, I noticed. So I brought that. I told the others I was still hungry, do not worry."

He eyed the food. "Thanks."

"And also," she continued. "You and Fox are about the same, dealing with an inner loneliness and not knowing how to cope with it completely."

At this Aeyr couldn't understand what she meant at first, but realizing that she was prying in his personal matters made him upset.

"I didn't pry that far," Krystal quickly said, sensing his anger. "However, being the only one different in a world so unfamiliar is...hard to adjust to. I know how you feel." She turned around and started to leave. "And also, if you do need anyone to talk to, I'm here. You know me telepathically now anyway," she finished, closing the door.

He didn't know if he should take her seriously. On the other hand, he did notice her fighting spirit in that brief encounter. Perhaps he will taker her offer of friendship after all, he thought, as he removed his helmet and quickly wolfed down the food.

"I'll be taking my leave now," Krystal declared to the others as she reached the dining area.

"Hey, wait!" Katt started. "I'll go with you. It seems I have some business to take care of near the capitol, so I'll walk you till there." She turned to Falco and the others. "You boys take care!" And with that the two women left.

Peppy looked at his comrades who were still sitting silently. "You all sure are a sad bunch as of late."

"Hey, not today old timer," Falco replied sharply. "Not today.."

"Well," he got up, preparing to leave as well, "I too have business to take care of. Tell your robot friend it was nice to meet him and give my regards to ROB. And Fox," he waited for him to look up at him, "you have two feet there and working legs. It's time you used them and went ahead with life." And with that he left.

Slippy got up from his chair, gave Fox a look and made his way into his workshop by the hanger bay. Falco, not able to deal with the silence grunted and made his way out the door, leaving Fox by himself to mope, still staring at his half eaten plate of food.

Seeing Krystal again like that had a larger impact on him than anyone knew. Despite her seeming to be stronger he couldn't help but feel that he had become weaker emotionally compared to her. He also couldn't bear the pain in his heart of what he had being taken away too soon. He slammed his right hand onto the table top, the noise heard through the room and hall.

"You should always finish what you start," Aeyr said, as he made his way by Fox, who jumped at his voice. He was once again wearing his full suit. "Your food, that is."

"Oh, it's just you," he looked from Aeyr to the plate he was holding.

"Krystal had left it in the room before she left," he lied. "I was merely taking it back."

"Just leave it on the table for now. The cleaner bot will take care of it later."

He really was acting up. _There was no way that I'm like him_, thought Aeyr. "I have a request, if I may ask."

Fox looked up at him, "Sure thing."

"Even though everyone has said my ship has been torn apart, I still wish to find out for myself if anything is still salvageable. Is it still by the landing site or-"

"Slippy had it all moved to his lab to examine. You can ask him about it if you want." He had an annoyed tone in his voice and upon realizing it he added, "I'm sorry, I must be coming off as rude, even if you are a machine. Just, for now I'd like to be left alone."

Aeyr could sympathize. "Very well, I'll see you later then." He went ahead and left Fox alone, who just continued to sulk and think about the past.

_**

* * *

Next episode: The Interrogation

* * *

  
**_

Fox finally manages to get his act together and begins asking questions to Aeyr. Yet, slowly, several citizens of the planet are being reported missing. Could something be going on?

_Note: This episode is pretty slow compared to the other two already. Promise to involve more excitement and some action soon :D_


	5. 04: The Interrogation

Star Fox : Universe

Episode 4

Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

**

* * *

The Interrogation

* * *

  
**

"So you couldn't stand being in that place too?" Katt mused as she saw Falco approaching her. She was currently in the lobby of the Cornerian Capitol, preparing to get some errands done.

"I can't sit and be part of Fox's pity party all day," Falco fumed. "There's no talking sense into him while he's like this."

"I hear you. Peppy was here earlier but he left in somewhat of a hurry." She brushed some fur off her eyes and smiled at Falco. "I actually have a few things to get done as well, but you're welcome to accompany me if you'd like."

"Well I had come to spend some time with you after all," he said, allowing the last part to slowly become inaudible.

"Haha! Wow, Falco! How unexpected coming from you!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "What do you want?"

"Sheesh! I come with an honest request and this is how you reply?"

Perhaps she had misunderstood him. "Alright, I'm sorry. You just caught me off guard, you know? Anyway, I'll be heading to a few places, though if they're quite boring to you your free to "fly" off anytime you want."

"Oh really? More political work?"

"Yeah, you could say that." She started to walk out but Falco didn't hesitate to follow. They didn't say anything much as they both made their way down the stairs of the outside courtyard. Katt waved for a taxi once they reached the street and soon a cab slowed to a stop before them and they both got in. "Lylat Memorial Museum, please."

"What's going on there?" Falco asked as the cab driver nodded and resumed driving.

"The Aranian tour is going on," Katt answered. "We've set up a few tours around the historic areas of our society for them to view. Though we don't want to utterly bore them, we've only set up the tours to last for about two to three hours a day."

"Hah, sounds boring nonetheless," Falco snorted. "I'd sure be off before then. But you weren't told to lead the tour, so why are you checking things out?"

"To be honest...I just feel that things have been awkward, with that robot of yours and now these Aranians appearing out of no where. Showing them around and telling them more about us might be too risky, despite us trying to appear as if we are friendly. What I'm trying to say is, we really should be asking for some sort of mutual agreement between us. We will give them knowledge if they give us something back."

"Have you told this to Lane?"

"Yes, I've discussed it with her, but she keeps saying that in order to appear welcoming to other races like them, we should "welcome them with open arms" and what not."

"I can see your point. Even our robot friend seems to be very curious about a lot of things, though I took it mostly because he wasn't accustomed to our ways." He paused for a second. "Actually, he seems to be a bit too curious at times. Slippy seems to enjoy his company though."

Katt had to think for a moment. A robot that seemed too curious was a bit strange, though she had never before encountered one with the A.I. that Aeyr appeared to have. Not to mention that his build was fairly similar to that of the Ape race, despite his tall height and rather stocky build. "From what I saw from him," she began, "he seemed to be very cautious of what he was saying. Especially since after I mentioned a relation to him and the Aranians he began to avoid me."

"Now that you mention it," Falco said, agreeing with her point, "Krystal was also keeping an eye on him during most of lunch. It seemed like she noticed something that we all didn't."

"Well, she is a telepath after all. I wouldn't put it past her if she did. Perhaps I shall see her before the day ends and ask for her opinions on it." The cab had at this point slowed to a stop in front of the museum, Katt noticing that there was a crowd larger than normal in the area. "Seems our friends are bringing a lot of attention to themselves," she thought out loud as she gave the cab driver their fare as Falco and she got out, making their way into the entrance.

"Finding them won't be hard now," Falco noticed. "Wherever the crowd gets thicker must be it. What are they doing here anyway?"

"Yes, more than likely they'll be at where the crowd is thickest," Katt agreed. "And we wanted to begin their historic tour with a description of our previous wartime crisis. Particularly with the Venom and Aparoid incident, here at the war museum." They were already making their way through a crowded lobby and following the direction of the crowd.

"Well that could've been done easier at Star Fox Base," Falco chuckled. "All of us have more valuable knowledge of it than they could find in this museum!"

"That may be true, but we want them to know of the many that sacrificed themselves for our cause. To show our dedication or what not and that we can be relied on. Some bullshit reason really."

"How reliable of our politicians..." It was then that Falco saw them for the first time. The reptilian and insect like body and bizarre structure. What made things a bit more intimidating was their facial expressions, naturally set in some fierce frown. "Wow, they really are quite the sight aren't they!"

"Really. You should've seen how Lane begged me to be with her when she had to talk to them for the first time!"

"Hah! Despite her position she was really always a scardy cat. Amazing she got voted into her position!"

"Now Falco, you know she's quite dedicated in her work," she replied angrily.

"Ah, c'mon Katt, you know I don't mean to be rude," he quickly answered, and then looked toward the Aranians. "But really, only a mother could love a face like that."

Katt rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I still feel something weird is going on, so I'm gonna stick around for a while, see if I catch anything bizarre or not."

* * *

At the same moment, General Pepper was examining papers along with Peppy in one of Corneria's several police stations. He tried his best to thoroughly read everything but couldn't exactly get a clue to what was going on.

"I still can't find any connection between these people," the hare finally said regretfully.

"Nor can I," Pepper muttered. "To think that in just one day ten people would suddenly disappear like that."

"What I find even stranger is that most of these reports are taken close to each other. Look." He held out one of the papers before Pepper as well as another in his other hand. "Reported at 10 and this one at 9:50." He put those down and pointed at the rest resting on the desk. "10:05, 9:47, and even 10:10."

The old general gave a soft growl to indicate he was thinking, an old habit of his. "So we can assume that these people were also taken around the same time as well. Do we have any witnesses?"

"A few," Peppy said as he sat down on the desk chair, Pepper sitting on the one beside him. "Their stories are all pretty jumbled but they all agree on some sort of ghost appearing out of nowhere and snatching the victims. There is one that sticks out among them though."

"Hmm, why is that?"

"The youngest witness claimed to have seen a winged demon snatching up the Scientist Richards near the Foxhound Ally Park."

"So first ghost and now a winged demon?" Pepper sighed. "We're gonna need better evidence than this. Is there anyway to relate this to the sudden appearances to the Aranians?"

"I've thought about that also," Peppy confessed. "However despite them being a possible suspect, we don't have enough evidence to cast any blame. There's also that robot that Fox and his crew found but he's got a strong alibi with Slippy and the others. Fox has yet to interrogate him however."

Pepper gave an exhausted sigh. "Very well, I'll inform the council to keep an eye out on the Aranians as well as to the troops directly touring them. Hopefully we catch whoever the culprit or culprits are soon."

* * *

It truly was an awkward feeling, having something you're so accustomed to being less evolved than yourself staring you right in the face. Aeyr couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by Fox, who had taken him aside to begin an interrogation. He was caught off guard when the Vulpine snatched him away from Slippy, who, as he had expected, was playing the same role Peppy did earlier with recounting the great adventures of the Star Fox team. Not to mention that by the time Fox had taken him it was already twilight outside, the sun lazily falling into the horizon.

Nothing really had been said yet; the only thing that had happened as Fox led him into the strategy room was him telling Aeyr to take a seat across from him on the table while he stared at a few sheets of paper. What was written, Aeyr couldn't tell from his part of the room. Fox also appeared to be in better spirits, or was hiding his emotions again. "If I may ask, will we be beginning shortly?"

Fox looked up at him for a moment and then back at the papers. "Yes we will. Did you find anything worth much to you among the remains?" He was referring to the junk that had been retrieved from his crashed ship that Slippy was planning to fiddle with soon.

"Yes, a few items," Aeyr answered truthfully.

"What types of things?"

He had to think about this for a moment. "The ships central computer, though damaged, can still be repaired. I believe it may be an asset to me later if I am to find my way back home."

"I see." He finally looked at Aeyr straight in the eye, if Fox could even see his eyes behind his visor and mask. "I was reading," he started, not putting much emotion into what he was saying, "that our computer logs had been modified earlier this morning. Would you happen to know anything about it?"

Had he been caught? He was sure that his masking program would have done the trick. "I am not sure what you are referring to."

Fox didn't answer back immediately, almost as if he wasn't really bothered. "I also have a report from the military that Corneria's communication has involuntarily isolated itself. Some type of virus program is blocking outsiders from reaching our network."

There was a pause and Aeyr was unsure if he wanted him to answer.

"The effects on Corneria itself are not noticeable, however on Fortuna, Fichina and our other local planets, not accessing the network is causing some problems for businesses and stationed troops."

Again more silence.

"Do you have any idea what is going on?"

Aeyr wasn't sure if he was being accused or being asked for advice. "I am unaware of the local disturbances within your planet," he confessed, which was partially true anyway due to his confinement in Star Fox HQ. "As far as that virus program you were referring to, wouldn't access to a super computer be necessary to create such an effect that is planet wide?"

Fox just smiled, which stroke Aeyr as odd, seeing as how the vulpine was sulking most of the day. "I suppose that's right. However such a computer is located in the city under heavy guard. I'll have to see if they have reported anything out of the ordinary prior to this problem."

"May I ask why you are asking me for answers?"

"That's pretty simple, really. These occurrences started with the Aranian arrival. If you do have some relation to them I'd like to get as much information as possible."

_He truly is a fox_, thought Aeyr. He was clearly far more cunning and clever than he had originally given him credit for. Those stories he had heard must have some merit after all.

The Vulpine put the papers down and turned them backwards, so nothing could be seen but the empty white space. "Well now that that part is out of the way, there are some other questions that I've been curious about."

Aeyr nodded to indicate that he was ready for them.

"First of all, just how are you and the Aranians related? You both apparently have appeared around the same time."

This would be a bit difficult to make up than anything he had said before. He didn't want them to assume that he wanted to be sent back to the pirates, as well as alert him of the possible danger the pirates would become until he was certain about what they were up to. "I was a maintenance robot, designed to make sure the ships were in working condition as well as help with repair if necessary. They made me strong so that if need be I could defend myself from invaders."

"You must be of importance to them if you help maintain their ships. Why do you not wish to return to them? Your attitude, I've heard, has been very reluctant." Fox noticed Aeyr pause to think for this question, possibly calculating what would be the best answer. _A clever robot that can create lies_, he thought.

"I was built so that my A.I. would evolve and grow," Aeyr answered after a while. "Through this I've grown a curiosity for my environment. Being placed in this new environment and not knowing anything is, you could say...more interesting."

It was an acceptable answer however strange it would sound coming from a machine, but Fox seemed to buy it, seeing as how he nodded and proceeded with another question.

"What do you wish to accomplish here? You and your Aranian friends?"

"As you've probably heard, we are all very curious about the universe, and we just want to learn as much as possible from it."

"I see," Fox felt as if the answer was recycled. "I'll conclude this for today. But I'm gonna have to say a few commands that you must follow from now on."

Aeyr must have said something to bother him, he realized. He believed he did a good job with this mock interrogation but it was possible that Fox may have picked up on something.

"You are not to leave the living quarters during the day and at night you will remain in the robots quarters on the basement floor. I feel that Slippy has given you too much freedom and until I'm certain that we can trust you, and that is IF we can trust you, I'm afraid I must restrict what you can do and "learn"." The way he said learn was almost mockingly.

"...I understand," Aeyr tried to say as flat as possible, but inside he was angry at this decision. Certainly it was reasonable, but Aeyr was never, ever one to like being limited in such a way. It made him feel imprisoned. Probably why he enjoyed the freedom bounty hunting seemed to give him.

"Alright, that is all, you may go."

He got up and left, glad to be away from the vulpine. He seriously was going to have to adjust his opinions on everyone on this planet, as he blamed his arrogance for his current situation. For being a seasoned bounty hunter he was surely acting like an armature. He made his way to the hanger bay, ignored Slippy's greeting and sat on his usual corner to think things through.

Fox remained in the strategy room a bit longer, trying to make sense of the things he had discussed with Aeyr. He pulled out his tablet and pen and opened the video taken from the control room earlier. The video records were clean, the ones connected directly to the primary security system, however, on the secondary cameras an image of Aeyr alone in the room standing in front of the monitors was bothering him. He was unsure as to how the robot could access the terminals without any direct contact, and also if he had done anything at all, despite the forced isolation. However, what he was certain was that Aeyr's technology was probably far more advanced than anything they had ever encountered, meaning that the Aranians too could be more advanced than their society. Fox was also beginning to believe Aeyr could have been Aranian himself.

However, limiting the places that Aeyr could roam was the best thing that Fox could do right now. He put down the tablet, leaned back on his chair and sighed as he stared at the ceiling above him. The whole day he had been quite restless, and even now he didn't feel up for any more thinking. He was well aware that the others disapproved of his attitude for most of the day, but he felt as if he had plenty of reason to act the way he did.

He looked back at his tablet and found out that it was already 8:30 pm. A day pretty much wasted. He got up and headed towards the living quarters and into his room. It was early but the emotional stress of the day already had him exhausted as he removed his boots and undressed into just his boxers and a wife beater. Before falling asleep he took a glimpse of a photo next to his bed, of him holding Marcus in his arms, and Krystal smiling beside him.

**

* * *

Next Episode: An Offer You Can't Refuse

* * *

  
**

The number of people disappearing is beginning to sharply increase and the military is unsure on how to counter Corneria's isolation! Yet a strange message is answered by several crime lords and mercenaries, such as Star Wolf. Who and what is waiting for them?

_Notes: Originally I had Aeyr reveal his identity forcibly to Fox but it would have forced me to speed up and even remove some story background I had been planning on using, as well cause some sort of problem with the time involved of the disappearances._

_Comments and Constructive Criticism welcome._


	6. 05: An Offer You Can't Refuse

Star Fox : Universe

Episode 5:

Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

**

* * *

An Offer You Can't Refuse

* * *

  
**

Wolf wasn't too thrilled with the idea of being so close to Corneria as he, Leon and Panther slowed their wolfens and carefully navigated through the asteroid field. The group had been through a lot over the past few years and had stuck together through thick and thin. Together they kept an eye out for anything that would give away their position, quite aware that on occasion a large asteroid would be a base in disguise.

"Any of you see anything out of the ordinary?" Wolf asked over their intercoms.

"At the moment, no," Panther replied.

"What kind of fool uses an abandoned base near Cornerian air for a hideout," Leon added in bitterly. "Not to mention delivering a message on an open frequency."

"One allied with Corneria, no doubt," Wolf answered back coolly.

"W-what do you mean? You mean we're going here knowing that we could be instantly arrested?!"

"That's not why we're here, Leon. If there's anyway we can remove those annoying bounties off our heads, then this is one of the best ways to do it."

"So now we're sucking up to Corneria," Leon sneered, "how depressingly low we've become then."

"You're welcome to leave if you want, Leon," growled Wolf, "and your also welcome to keep that high price on your head. As for me, the sooner this thing's gone the better." However, even though it seemed like a noble act, the truth was Wolf was quite upset that his efforts during the Anglar War were greatly overlooked and his team was still branded as renegades.

The only answer audible was a disapproving grunt coming from Leon.

"Something is showing up on radar," Panther announced among their bicker. "It's a short range radio frequency coming from the large asteroid ahead."

"Well boys, looks like this is our stop."

Yet, as the three of them neared the asteroid, they could see that the entrance to the docking bay was littered with other small spacecrafts. As their wolfens came to a halt, Wolf noticed the many eyes looking back at them.

"Well we should have expected this," Leon said. "We don't know if life support in this place has been restored, so everyone make sure your oxygen tanks have enough in them."

If it weren't for their wolfens their identities probably would've been unknown to the crowd. All of them were also wearing a space suit, probably aware of the situation as they were. Yet, none of them seemed to be moving anywhere inside the base.

"Hmm, according to these readings, the base is in fact without power and none of the doors will open," Panther informed. "Everyone here is also linked to criminal families. Wonder what it is that is keeping these people around."

Wolf would've agreed with him if it weren't for the sudden appearance of a large frigate, and all the people jumped in surprise at its sudden arrival. In fact, the sheer size of the ship was enough to frighten a whole fleet of fighters. "I see, so we were expected to wait here then dock."

"It would seem so," Leon agreed. "I've never seen a ship of this design. It isn't Cornerian or of Venom."

A hatch began to open and the ship slowly edged closer toward the asteroid docking bay, allowing for the crowd to enter. At first everyone was hesitant, but slowly they left their ships behind and entered, their curiosity getting the better of them.

"Wolf, do you still wish for us to proceed?" Leon asked, though cautiously and not with his initial anger.

He hesitated to reply, knowing well now that something was up. "We go, but only to find out what's going on. I don't want us caught in something way over our heads."

He and the others made their way toward the end of the line, slowly making their way into a large room along with the other curious mercenaries. When the last person had entered, the doors immediately shut and depressurization began. As everyone became accustomed to their surroundings, Wolf noticed that where they were was actually a very large hanger bay as he could see several ships in the distance, their design foreign to him. Overhead, a platform was being lowered, three strange figures standing on it.

When it seemed that all attention was placed onto the floating platform the central being stepped forward and began to speak, his voice very harsh and rough. "Hello, scum of the Lylat System! I welcome you to our Frigate!"

Panther nudged both Leon and Wolf, indicating that they keep their speech frequencies private. "It seems that everyone here are in fact criminals or mercenaries, judging from the conversations intercepted."

"I do not like this creature's language," Leon spat disgustedly. "Their appearance is utterly vulgar as well!"

"Quiet you two," Wolf warned. "Listen carefully to what this thing says." He returned his attention to the platform.

"For a week we have learned enough about your Cornerian friends to understand that they are utterly afraid of conflict! And yet, you all still stand here, your armies safely hidden away and afraid themselves to make any initiative strike. Why is this?"

There were a few shouts from the crowd in anger.

"You are insane! The Cornerian military is strong!" complained one.

"We could never get past their defenses!" another cried out.

The creature nodded in agreement with everyone but resumed his speech. "Then how do you truly call yourselves pirates? How do you call yourselves the great warlords of the system when you hide away from such petty problems?"

"I shall tell you, our people have examined them long enough despite their attempt at isolation to block out their network, and we know now that the planet can be taken down within days! Their clinging onto an illusion of peace blinds them!"

Everyone was amazed at this comment. "How can you make such a claim!?" They demanded. "The great forces of Venom were never able to break the military until a few months into the war!"

There was a loud howl behind the crowd and everyone, including Wolf jumped in surprise. Behind them, a large dragon like figure began laughing, his gigantic wingspan increasing his intimidation.

"I would like to introduce you all," said the creature on the platform, his grin hidden from the crowd below, "to our second in command and our military leader: Alpha."

It was then that Wolf knew that he and his comrades were placed in a situation he had intended to avoid from the beginning. To his surprise, and everyone's terror, the dragon, Alpha, swooped down from his perch and snatched up a single canine from the crowd. The poor dog yelped in surprise and began shooting at him to no avail. Alpha then grabbed the dogs arm and leg, and ripped him in two, its blood falling onto the chaos below as they were helpless to watch it devour the remains.

"Ah, a warning," the creature in the platform continued calmly. "We made sure to get a background check on everyone present, and we mean, everyone. You can thank this fellow here."

The man who walked forward was a horse headed Lylatian. No one recognized him immediately but soon his name spread across the room. Wallace. He was a wanted crime lord whom controlled a massive private army. He peered down from his position and grinned at the people below. "Let this undercover cop's death be etched in your mind. The Pirates expect nothing but your utmost cooperation, and the rewards you receive for services will be nothing short of amazing, otherwise, you may meet the same fate as this pitiful fellow here."

No one could have refused otherwise, even Wolf and his gang.

* * *

Fox had taken notice at how restless Aeyr had become during the past week. It was especially noticeable whenever the gang had gathered to eat, leading Fox to believe his theory of Aeyr not truly being a machine stronger. He had interrogated him three times already yet still received vague answers to many of his questions. However, his tone of voice had quickly become impatient than previously before. Even Slippy was noticing the change in his attitude, as his interest of Cornerian matters had shifted toward what was recently plaguing the planet.

"It's most strange, how sudden and often these disappearances have become," Peppy exclaimed, who was over to discuss the events with the mercenary team. "Within the past week, a total of two hundred cases of reported kidnappings. All witnesses claim to see the people disappearing into thin air, and even a few more discuss a dragon like figure swooping from the sky and taking them."

"A dragon you say," Aeyr interrupted, surprising everyone. He had remained silent most of the time Peppy had been talking.

"Well, yes," Peppy answered. "But most of the reports about it were from young Cornerians. Mostly children."

"At this point I'm sure all reports have become important," Fox said. "What is the governments stand on this?"

"They really don't know what to do at the moment and believe that as long as that virus on our network is in place there isn't much we can do with getting any information out to our allies."

"And the source of the virus?"

"We don't know, but reports from the central labs show that nothing out of the ordinary occurred within the past week. It leaves us with the only option of believing the virus was uploaded remotely from a computer connected to the network. It could have been anywhere."

"I see," he took a quick glance at Aeyr but he didn't flinch. "And there was another thing you wanted to discuss with us."

"Yes, that." Peppy hesitated and took a few gulps of his glass of water on the table. "Two days ago, we intercepted a signal coming from the asteroid belt. At first we thought it was some sort of distress signal but after decoding signal, we've revealed a message, pretty much calling all local mercenaries and crime lords to the location. We had sent a five of Pepper's men to investigate undercover but as of yet we have not heard anything from the team."

"A calling of that kind and no quick reply probably means something happened," Falco added. "Is this why you've come here?"

"Saying it bluntly, yes," Peppy said. "The military wants to hire Star Fox to investigate the asteroid field and report immediately what you find. If possible we want you to leave as quickly as possible."

"We understand," Fox answered. "We'll prepare the great fox and our arwings and leave in the morning."

"And me?" They looked at Aeyr, who had his left hand slightly raised, as if asking for attention.

"I've actually arranged that matter already," Peppy replied. "I'm having Katt come and pick you up in a few. She has a few questions she wishes to ask you and you will follow them as they conclude the tour for the Aranians. You may return to them at the conclusion as well."

Fox could see that he did tense up. Whenever a connection between him and the Aranians were mentioned it was something that he generally did. Aeyr was aware of something and wasn't telling them about it. His patience with him growing significantly thin, he blurted out, "I do know that you do know something about what is going on! You can't keep it hidden for so long!"

Everyone was surprised at the outburst, even Aeyr who jumped a bit from his seat. By now Aeyr's involvement in the events occurring in Corneria had been minimal, in his opinion. However with the current kidnappings and the sightings of Ridley, he knew the pirates were up to something, yet he wasn't sure how to warn Fox and the others now that he had established his identity among them. Not to mention he was not thrilled with the idea of being handed over to the hands of his enemies. "There is nothing for me to say. However, once you have told me some information about your trip, I'll say what I'll need to," he decided on saying.

"Hey, if you know something you tell us NOW!"

"I cannot without further evidence. If where you're going tomorrow does create any further suspicions..."

Fox didn't understand what he was getting at. "I'm not willing to play your games any longer. If you and the Aranians are doing something with our people then I can assure you that you're heading into a world of trouble! Not to mention that –"

"Do you have armor against plasma based weaponry," Aeyr interrupted, his tone lower than normal.

"We do, yes, our space suits are geared to protect against weapon fire of that kind," Slippy added in, unsure where this question was heading.

"Then I'll keep my word. Return after your investigation, and I'll talk" This last comment left the air around them tense. To be honest, with the amount of attention they kept on Aeyr for the past week, he was almost sure that they would have taken him with them so that he could see for himself what was going on. In fact, the whole week he had been restricted in the Star Fox base was incredibly difficult without anyway to access information. Even if his hybrid power suit was capable of doing great things, he still needed a terminal to access.

"Very well, we'll take that gamble," Fox answered after a while. "However once we do get back, we'll find reason to get you to talk, but we'll do it by force next time."

Aeyr hadn't intended it to be considered a gamble, but all he could do was nod in agreement as a chime rang and Katt, made her entrance known.

"Hey guys! How goes it?" she asked cheerfully, only to be greeted by cold looks and sour faces. "Yeowch, if looks could kill!" Everyone's attention seemed to be on the machine, she noticed. "Alright guys, I'll take care of it from here. I'm sure he knows where I'm taking him correct?"

"Yes, I've told them," Peppy said.

"Alright then. Now, Mr. Robot-o, if you would please."

Aeyr stood up reluctantly, and stole one last glance at Fox as he and Katt headed out. At the moment he couldn't help but hate that fox.

Once they were out of sight, Fox decided to change his mind. "Change of plans guys, we leave immediately. Get your things ready as soon as possible. And Peppy, make sure to keep a very sharp eye on him!"

* * *

"There's someone waiting for you in the cab," Katt told Aeyr as they entered.

He had expected it to have been an "Aranian" but was relieved to see that it was only Krystal. He took a seat beside her, his figure a bit too bulky in the power suit as Katt managed to find a seat beside him.

"I'm glad you're relieved to see me," Krystal smiled.

"Quite a big guy, aren't you," Katt complained.

Aeyr let out a short laugh, amused at being between two Cornerian females. "Is there a reason for you to be here as well?" he asked directed to Krystal.

"Yes, Katt realized that I probably picked up some information about you and asked me to tag along. I only told her what I deemed necessary," she noticing he didn't seem thrilled at his. "How is Fox?"

He grunted. "Pushy, bossy, and a pain in the neck."

"Then I see he's gotten better since the last time I saw him."

"You can ask about him later," Katt interrupted. "For now, I need to know some facts about you and the Aranians. According to what Krystal told me, you are no robot, is this right Aeyr?"

He hesitated, but was sure that was enough to answer her question. "No, I am not a machine."

"So you are Aranian?"

"No." He noticed that the cab driver was eavesdropping onto their conversation. "I'll wait till we're someplace private, and then I'll continue."

* * *

"Ah, if it isn't Wolf O' Donnell and his friends!" an excited Wallace exclaimed as Wolf, Leon and Panther were forced into his small office, overlooking the chaos below them. "I'm so very glad you answered our call."

"We're not here to satisfy your excitement," Wolf growled. "Just what is it you wanted from us directly?"

The horse kept the grin on his face. "I'm not sure if you've heard about me. My name is-"

"Wallace, a notorious crime lord wanted for treason, murder, and smuggling. I know who you are."

"Oh goody! Then it seems we can skip the formal introductions after all!" As he said it two well armed pirates came in and stood beside him. "Amazing aren't they? These Pirates. Gifted with great knowledge and technology! If they wanted, they could easily rip apart Lylat and keep it for themselves, you know?"

Wolf took a quick glimpse at them, not impressed by their appearances. "If that's so then why is it that a man like you is aiding them? Why do they need your help?"

"Well now, Wolf! You don't have to be so rude. I merely am here to offer you and your comrades some sort of deal. A way to keep you, safe shall I say? Despite their great knowledge they are in fact short handed when it comes to soldiers. Through their generosity and wisdom, they came to me, offering me riches beyond your wildest dreams if I aided them with troops and weapons! A chance to be part of a great empire and even control a part of it; who could refuse?"

_So he was a typical guy who was bought over through greed_, thought Wolf. _How so utterly typical._

Wallace's grin grew even larger. "You see, all those pitiful fools below? I knew that they would be quite unwilling to cooperate unless pushed hard enough. So we're bestowing them with gifts. Each one of them will be granted one of the pirates advanced ships to return home with and inform their fellows and rivals of the greatness and mercy of the Pirates. If they ally themselves then they shall be part of the glory of their growing empire. And if not…"

At this moment, a canine was forced into the room, two other pirates holding him in place, along with the pirate who was speaking on the platform. He cried out a few curses but could do nothing against the strength of his two captives.

"Oh I see another one of Corneria's officers has been found. Then this shall prove to be a great experiment, don't you agree ambassador?"

"Do you truly wish to show these three?" the pirate ambassador inquired, taking a look at Wolf and the others.

"Very sure!" Wallace replied, and turning to Wolf, "You three best follow and on your best behavior."

_Not like we have a choice_, Wolf thought angrily, as they were pushed ahead of the two armed pirates. They were led into a large laboratory room, and to their horror, were several Lylatians in large tubes, obviously being experimented on. "Just what is going on here?!" Leon and Panther both as shocked at what was before them.

"It's nothing of your concern!" a pirate behind them barked, nudging them forward with their guns.

Leon grunted in disgust and Panther merely glared back at them, but complied with their commands. It was then that Wolf noticed that the Cornerian officer was no longer with them, along with the two pirates that were holding him. As Wallace and the pirate ambassador came to a halt, they were before what looked like a huge tank, though rather than a glass barrier around it, it was an electrified force field. They obviously wanted whatever was inside to stay there.

"You may drop the food in now," the ambassador said coldly.

Wolf soon realized where the officer was. Looking up, they all saw two pirates overhead opening a hatch to the tank, and pushed the poor canine in. Wolf shuddered as he fell to the bottom, the sound of bones cracking echoing as the officer grunted and spat out blood from the impact. He howled in pain and tried to get up, but it was of no use with his newly broken legs.

"You said, food?" Panther spoke in a quivering voice. "You didn't mean…him?"

The ambassador gave him a look and laughed. "Open the gate," he commanded the nearest officer, who pressed a button on the nearest console.

What appeared before them was a creature they had never seen before. It wasn't a very large creature, about the size of a small television, however, it was grouped among a swarm of about seven others. They had two large protruding teeth as well as a row of smaller teeth around their mouths, their bodies a transparent green, their inner systems visible to the spectators.

The canine, seeing them rush toward him, let out a terrified howl, pulled out his blaster and began shooting helplessly at the swarm. A few shots connected and some of the creatures backed away only to regroup with the swarm.

It was then that one finally latched onto his broken legs, its two teeth digging into his flesh and holding strong. Slowly, the rest of them followed its lead, the officer letting out a painful and terrified cry. Yet if those screams weren't disturbing enough, he let out one final scream, one that had sent shivers down Wolf and the others back. It wasn't a scream that you normally heard in the battlefield. This one was one of complete and utter fear and for the longest time Wolf could not get it out of his head.

Slowly, the swarm released their prey, and at first glance it looked like the bloodied body was still intact. However the color and life was completely drained, and as the pirates turned on a fan to push the creatures back into the area they originally came from, his body slowly disintegrated in the wind.

"An amazing pet, don't you think?" Wallace laughed.

"W-What was the point of showing this to us?!" Leon demanded, obviously horrified at what he had just seen.

"Ah, merely to persuade you into our cause," the horse smiled. "The pirates have cloned and made an army of these creatures and are planning on using them soon. But there are a few shortcomings in the plan and we want you to take care of it."

"And just what do you want us to do?" growled Wolf, letting his anger out in his words.

"That is simple," the pirate ambassador answered, his voice and expression remaining stoic. "You are to either destroy or capture the mercenary group known as Star Fox for us. Failure to do so will find your fate similar to this Cornerian."

_**

* * *

Next Episode: The Two Faced Villain

* * *

  
**_

Fox, Slippy and Falco make their way to the asteroid field and find a large collection of ships belonging to several criminals on an abandoned base! Meanwhile, Aeyr is forced to cooperate with the authorities no matter if he likes it or not!

_Notes: I was actually really hesitant in adding metroids into the story, though after doing so I think it adds a greater deal of urgency to the matter with the Pirates, seeing as how they are only one frigate with a limited supply of soldiers. As for Wallace's appearance, I had recently been playing Adventure of Link and one of the bosses was a horse head, so I thought, why not? Not to mention I don't recall any horse headed people in the series o.o. Only trouble I've been having so far was establishing some frustration in Fox at Aeyr._

_Also would like to note that with Finals and a whole bunch of tests coming up, updates may slow down a bit, compared to how I've been doing them as of late Xx. As for the speed in which these chapters have been given out, I've actually finished a few chapters ahead of what is released in order to make some tweaks before submitting them. Lately I've noticed just how easily I get carried away typing I reach near 8 pages before I know it X.X._

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Comments and Constructive Criticism welcome._


	7. 06: The Two Faced Villain

Star Fox : Universe

Episode 6:

Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

**

* * *

The Two Faced Villain

* * *

  
**

According to what Katt had told him, they had taken him to the Cornerian Military Headquarters. The facility was heavily guarded, many troopers standing in position along the halls adequately armed. Aeyr's visor cautioned him with an alert message of moderate to high, especially with how low his suits power supply remained.

"This is the room," Katt informed Aeyr, opening the door so that he would enter first, followed by Krystal. "We'll continue our questioning here," she said as she closed the door.

He saw that an old canine with the appearance of a hound was already sitting waiting for them. He greeted everyone with a nod and Katt took a seat beside him, Aeyr directed to sit on the opposite side. Krystal merely sat on an empty chair in the corner of the room.

"Aeyr, this is General Pepper," began Katt. "He's been investigating the recent disappearances of Cornerians alongside General Peppy."

"Good to meet you," the hound spoke, though there wasn't any emotion in his voice. Probably a standard introduction when it came to questioning. "Katt here has already told me some information that Krystal had discovered about you, such as how you're disguised as a robot to evade attention to your true self. Because of this we've asked her to be present in this interview so as to figure out if you are lying again or not."

He didn't react in a way that they could notice, though inside he was disgusted. "We don't know how Fox interrogated you," Katt went on, "but we are pretty sure he would have never asked for Krystal's help with their current relationship." She glanced at Krystal, who despite paying attention was staring blankly at the wall. Before she could continue the door opened and Peppy made his way in, sitting next to her. "Anything new?"

"Fox had changed his plans and they are preparing to depart as we speak," the old hare replied, Aeyr turning his gaze on him.

"They're leaving already? What happened to going tomorrow?" he asked flatly.

"Apparently, you got under his skin, so to speak," Peppy answered. "Whatever your gamble is his patience has run too thin that he and his crew want answers immediately."

"However," Katt interrupted, "we don't intend to wait for him before we get some answers out from you." She lifted up some sort of recording device that Aeyr had never seen before. "First of all, I want you to say something in your own native language."

He didn't know why this was important but decided to comply with it anyway. "なぜ？　何を言ってほしいの?" (Naze, nani wo itte hoshi no?)

"Well," Pepper started, "I can already see obvious differences in your language and the Aranians. When we managed to get a recording of their native tongue it was much harsher and the words were difficult to distinguish, unlike yours."

"Meaning that your so called "relationship" with the Aranians is either also a hoax or you are of different species collaborating with each other," added in Peppy, who then turned to Katt. "Does the computer match the language with any in our database?"

"No," she said shaking her head, looking at a screen on the recording device. "Just like with the Aranian speech. Krystal, did you get the meaning of it?"

"Directly, no," she looked at Aeyr as she finished. "But as for meaning, I was able to tell that he wanted to know what you wanted him to say." She could sense that Aeyr was not happy with her involvement in the interrogation, possibly feeling betrayed by her who had earlier asked him for friendship. "_I apologize, but I cannot let the current incidents that have occurred endanger our people_," she said telepathically. "_I hope that you understand_."

"Alright then, Aeyr, if that is your name," Pepper asked, "we shall start from the beginning. What is your real name?"

Aeyr hesitated. "My full name is Lyle Aeyr Wulff. Code named Air Wolf."

"Ah, I do prefer Lyle over Aeyr," Katt confessed, amused. "Feels more natural to say, but Air Wolf as a code name? Are you part of some sort of organization, Lyle?"

"Yes…and no. I am a bounty hunter working under the Galactic Federation from my universe."

"Bounty hunter, huh?" mused Peppy. "And just what are you doing on our part of the universe?"

"I honestly don't know," Lyle confessed. "My last job was to gain information on the current whereabouts of the Pirates who had stationed three frigates at the border of the Toki Cluster." He realized they probably wouldn't know what he was talking about. "Er, it's just outside Federation control."

"When you say Pirates, you mean the Aranians, do you?" Katt asked, obviously not surprised.

"Yes, though why they call themselves Aranians is ironic to me, seeing as how their arch nemesis is another bounty hunter named Samus Aran."

"Interesting…but why were you sent alone and without backup?"

"I was merely supposed to scout out what was going on as well as obtain data on stolen materials over an Aeon Warp Drive along with other Aeon based equipment." Lyle then paused a moment and considered if what he said next would be necessary. "Because I was brought up and raised on Aeon, I considered the job a personal matter and went to investigate. As for backup, too many fighters wouldn't make for a stealthy mission."

"And then what happened?"

"I infiltrated one of their frigates, of course, as well as obtained enough information before my presence was detected. However, the Pirates had already began their worm hole experiment and I lost control of my ship in the vortex and ended up crash landing onto this planet."

Katt and Peppy looked over at Krystal, who only nodded to show that Lyle was in fact telling the truth. "Explain the Aranians, and why do you call them Pirates?"

So they finally wanted to know the best part, Lyle thought. They most certainly are in for a horrible awakening. He took a deep breath and then began to tell them of the crimes and horrors that his government's number one enemy was responsible for. "Well, where should I begin," he said with a sarcastic tone.

* * *

The Great Fox had slowed to a halt as they neared a monitoring station, signifying their entrance into the Asteroid Belt of the system. It was one of the many stations placed along the inner ring of the asteroids, keeping a close lookout for any stray particles which could make their way onto Corneria, which floated lazily over the distance, as large as a golf ball. Before entering however, it was necessary that they passed through clearance with a respected station. This was a safety measure, in order to hold people responsible in case they accidentally sent an asteroid in the wrong direction.

"Ah, Star Fox, nice to see you guys again," the attendant said over a short wave communication signal. "See you guys have a new ship! Looks nice! Just give me a sec as I register your clearance."

Originally the Great Fox had suffered great damage from previous missions and wars. With the funds that they had received from their work and other commissions the team was able to buy a new star ship. This one wasn't shaped like the traditional Great Fox, rather, it was crescent shaped and heavily plated with the strongest alloy in their system. The bridge windows were visible on the top end of the ship, and the loading bay located on the underside. The ship was propelled by an experimental form of energy, one that didn't require extensive amounts of fuel and was also fairly quiet.

"Amazing they can still do such a thing with the Cornerian network compromised," Falco mused as they waited.

"They're probably basing their information on Fichina or Fortuna's network," Slippy suggested. "They may not have as large a database as Corneria's but at least they're still reliable." He noticed that Fox was being distant, staring off into the distance in his seat. "You alright, Fox?"

"Huh?" he asked, knocked out of his day dream. "Oh, yeah, just got a lot on my mind."

"About the robot?" asked Falco. "You sure it was a good idea leaving him out of our sights?"

"I'm very certain Katt can manage," he resumed staring out into space. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that he's no robot at all. Once we get back I hope that Katt and the others can give us some useful information they got outta him."

"Robot or not, don't you think you were a bit rough with him?" Slippy asked a bit nervously.

"No, I don't think I was," Fox answered blankly. "After all the interrogations I've done I'm more than certain that he has been hiding a lot from us." There was a beep on their communications system and Fox, a bit surprised, clicked a button to answer the call.

"Fox? Are you getting this transmission?" Katt asked, being displayed over the ships front screens.

"Yes, Katt. We hear you? If you are able to reach us does this mean that the network has been repaired?" Fox asked back.

"Well, yes and no. The fact is it was merely tuning out communication from a range of signals, sort of like a firewall. I'm able to speak with you because we're using Lyle's frequency."

He blinked, confused. "Who's Lyle?"

"Oh, Lyle is Aeyr's real name. With Krystal's help we've managed to get him to speak." She saw Fox's expression change into a frown. "He's unaware that I'm talking to you at the moment, but anyway, from the information we received, the Aranians are entirely no where near as friendly as they've been letting us see them with crimes ranging from genetic experiments, genocide, the works! They're using the name Aranians as a guise to probably gain information from Corneria to better benefit their needs. In truth, they are pirates, and one of the most notorious criminals in Lyle's galaxy."

"And we've done more than enough and gave them a history lesson about us. Why didn't Aeyr, Lyle, or whatever warn us anytime sooner?!" Fox demanded.

"We don't understand that either," Katt confessed, trying to calm him down. "But so far everything he's told us has been on the mark. Krystal has made sure that he hasn't lied using her telepathy, and he also gave us this frequency to communicate. He's also told us that where he's from he was a bounty hunter and that these Pirates are also mortal enemies for his government so I'm certain what he was doing wasn't meant to harm us."

"I see…" At that moment they heard the voice of the station attendant, giving them the okay to proceed ahead into the asteroid field. He gave Slippy a nod and the frog began accelerating the Great Fox via the controls. "We're entering the asteroid field now. We'll be investigating on our arwings shortly. Can you establish a connection with them?"

"Yes, but we're also in a bit of a crisis down here as well. In a few hours we'll be giving the Pirates their last tour. However, we do not want them to know we are aware of their true identities so we're going to play along for a while we have a few troops move into position."

It was Falco this time that stood up. "Katt, just what are you all planning down there?"

The Feline sighed. "We're planning on arresting the Aranian Ambassador and holding him into questioning about the disappearances. Krystal has already agreed to help with the future interrogations."

"Does he know about this?" asked Fox.

"No, General Pepper and Peppy have agreed that he has done enough meddling and have chosen to not inform him about what is going on. We want this plan to go as smoothly as possible. For now we've got him locked up in a cell until the morning."

"Alright then." He took a look at Falco, wondering if he had anything else to add, but the avian only shook his head. "We'll be heading out now. You know our I.D. so keep in contact later."

"Alright. Over and out."

* * *

At the moment Lyle was lying on a prison bed, the small room a plain white. There were no bars or anything a typical prison would have, just a small, square, room. He took this time to finally look over the logs he had hacked on his time on the Pirate frigate. It wasn't that any of the information within it was interesting but merely because he was bored. Most of it was full of mechanical blueprints and theories about travel to the far reaches of the galaxy via a wormhole. The only drawback being that the target location at the moment was unknown, and according to the journal entry from the pirate scientist he had knocked out, the recharge on the technology would take too long to recover. He was already annoyed at how he was treated in Corneria and wished that he could find a way back to his GF Frigate. Whatever was happening between the Lylatians and the Pirates were in fact his business, yet everyone had obviously wanted him to stand aside and let them handle things.

It was reasons like this that he preferred working alone on all his missions. He had at one time been part of what was considered the best special operations team of the Galactic Federation. He closed his eyes, wishing to forget about the rest that had happened during his fourth and final mission with them.

Regardless, whatever the Cornerians were going to do next, Lyle had no clue. At the moment his best option was to find a way to escape and possibly steal a ship and see what he could do on his own and find out why the Pirates were abducting the citizens of this planet. He then remembered that a winged dragon was also seen by children witnesses and the entry about Ridley he had taken. The log began to be printed onto his visor's screen.

(_ Science Team has been praised with their success in cloning our greatest General. Despite our initial expectations of cloning fifty of Ridley, we've managed to deal with the twenty six that survived infancy as well as military training by their "father"._

_Each clone is gifted with special talents, however. Some exhibit improved speed and melee performance while others show promise in telepathy. However drawbacks include a lack of intelligence on some of the subjects. With such a diverse amount of generals now leading our forces we shall surely become a force to be reckoned with!_

_However, with the disappearance of the original Ridley as well as his crew on Zebes, we've decided it'd be best to divide our forces and generals among our fleet. We're afraid that the hunter may have had something to do with the incident. The Occult have been informed of this misshapen under F.E.'s instructions. )_

Lyle grunted in disgust at seeing mention of The Occult, not to mention he couldn't figure out what F.E. was referring to. However, he was now certain that one of these clones was among the abductors. He closed his eyes, wondering how the following day would unravel.

* * *

"ROB, have you picked up anything from the Great Fox?" Falco yawned. For the past few hours Fox, Slippy and he were out on their arwings, staying close in range to their star ship but flying in different directions in order to cover more space.

"Negative. The scanners have picked up nothing unusual," ROB replied monotonously.

"Look, rocks," Slippy said lazily. "Oh what is that?! It's…oh…just more rocks."

"Keep your act together," Fox advised. He was trying to keep his comrades as cautious as possible seeing as they had no idea just what these Pirates were capable of though in reality the idea of laying on a bed lingered at the back of his mind. "ROB, just how close are we to the coordinates of that signal?"

"Location distance an estimated 5 miles. Arrival time an estimated two minutes."

Over the distance they could see the large asteroid drifting among its smaller units, the entrance to the dock opening below its rocky disguise. "Status report," he ordered.

"Sensors are picking up a massive amount of ships docked within the station. No biological readings confirmed, all ships are empty. Station isn't receiving power."

"What are so many ships doing in a derelict station?" Falco asked. "And where did they all go?"

"We're going to have to go down there and investigate," Fox concluded. "Slippy, return to the Great Fox, me and Falco will check it out and send you the data. Analyze it as fast as you can."

"Roger," the frog replied, directing his arwing back into the Great Fox's docking bay while Falco and Fox allowed theirs to descend into the docking bay of the abandoned base.

"Fox! Over there to your right. Those three ships," Falco exclaimed.

As he turned his attention could see why Falco was startled. "Wolfens? So Star Wolf was lured here as well?" He flipped a few switches on his console and allowed the awring to gently land near the edge of docking bay, there being little space among the mess of other ships. Falco followed suit.

"Guys," Slippy began over their communication system. "Life support on the station is basically at zero, so you'll need to equip your oxygen masks and tanks that are equipped in the space suits that are stored within your storage compartments."

"Great, theres no room to change in here!" Falco complained, though he turned around from his seat and reached for the suit tucked in the back of his arwing anyway.

As soon as both he and Fox were suited up, they allowed the artificial gravity within their arwing's to depressurize, opened their cockpits and climbed down, struggling with the zero gravity. "Activate the shoes magnetism," he said, switching his on as he spoke.

"Also a warning guys," said Slippy. "The life support of your suit will only last about fifty minutes, so be careful how you spend you time out there."

"We'll take care to notice that, Slip," Falco replied, already standing by the Wolfens, Fox soon joining him. "These belong to Wolf's crew alright. But then, where did they all go?"

"Beats me," Fox said. He climbed his way up on top one of the wolfens and opened the cockpit, making his way to the control panel. "According to this, the engines have been offline for about four hours, so I assume that everyone must be near by."

* * *

Unfortunately he didn't know how right he was as their ship came up on the screens, a disgusted Star Wolf watching Wallace cackle before him on the Pirate bridge. "How utterly fortunate for us, to see that your targets have come before us willingly!" he continued with his laughter as the Pirate Ambassador muttered a few words in his language to one of the pirates beside him then moved toward Wallace. "Eh, what is it now?"

"We have one last errand to run on Corneria and then we'll begin our operation. We'll need you to maintain the Lylatian fleet. Allow us to take care of Corneria." He kept a solid expression as he spoke.

"Er, yes. Will do, sir! The monitoring system will make sure everyone acts accordingly."

"Yes, we are aware of F.E.'s methods. For now, we'll take our leave and complete our last tour of the planet. Alpha will be joining us for this trip," said the ambassador as he made his exit.

"Oh yes, I'm very sure that he'll enjoy his stay there! Haha!" Wallace then turned his attention toward Wolf and his two comrades, Wolf returning his hysterical expression with a scowl. "You three know what you are to do. There are three spare Pirate fighters in the hanger bay. Get to work!"

"If I may interrupt," Wolf growled boldly, his comrades looking at him in surprise. "I wish to take this one alone."

"Eh? What is this you say?"

Wolf grunted and turned away, Panther and Leon following close behind as he ignored the surprised reaction that Wallace was making, the doors shutting his voice off. "You two stay out of this."

"I would like to agree with you there," Leon said. "However, just what are you planning on doing? Didn't you hear that we are being monitored?"

"Which is why I'm telling you to stay here and let me do this on my own for now!" he growled back. " As for how we're monitored, I'll have to push my luck."

"Wolf, I sure hope you know what you are doing," Panther said worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'll have this all sorted out in no time," and with that he left the two of them standing there. _Yeah_, he thought, _I'll think of something somehow.

* * *

  
_

" _You need to wake up! Please!_ "

Lyle lazily opened his eyes to see who was speaking to him yet couldn't see anyone. "Who's there?" he yawned and stretched, allowing his muscles to adjust as sleeping in the suit so often was causing him discomfort.

" _It's Krystal_," said the voice. He realized she was communicating to him telepathically.

"_Oh you, what do you want now_?"

"_I'm sorry for earlier_," her tone was impatient and he didn't know what to make of it at the moment. _"I'm not supposed to tell you but Katt and the others are setting up a trap for the Pirate Ambassador. They plan on holding him for questioning yet I can't help but feel something will go terribly wrong. I thought it was something I could brush aside yet the feeling keeps getting stronger_."

Lyle couldn't believe what he was hearing. "_Those fools! There's no way they could pull off this kind of stunt with the Pirates!_" He had to think. He was quite aware that if the Cornerians were as armed as the guards he had seen throughout this building then with the Pirates shielding and technology that they had little to no chance against them. His only option was to go out there and try and stop them.

"_No, I know your thinking your going to go it alone, but these are my friends out there too!_" Krystal exclaimed.

"_And just what can you do?_" he replied. He then heard a click on the door, and it was swung open by Krystal. She wasn't wearing her usual outfit he had seen her in. Now she donned a dark blue jumper along with gloves, black boots as well as that staff she had earlier in both hands. She was dressed to fight.

"First off I can open this door," she said with a short smile, breaking their telepathic communication.

Lyle returned her smile with a grin, though she obviously couldn't see it through his visor. "Your not gonna let me go alone after all, huh?" She nodded though her expression remained worried. "Alright then, but if things get ugly, I'll need you to run for cover."

"Trust me; I'm more flexible than you think." And with that, they both broke out in a run, Lyle trusting that Krystal knew where they had to go and ignoring the surprised cries of the guards behind them.

_**

* * *

Next Episode: Loss

* * *

  
**_

Wolf goes it alone against Star Fox, but does he have something up his sleeves? And how will Krystal and Lyle react when they discover their preemptive strike will only make things worse?

_Notes: I am not happy with the ending of this chapter to be honest as I had wanted it to end in a more "epic" cliffhanger but as I reached an end I felt that I was trying to rush myself through while leaving out some tid bits I had been wanting to use again. Not to mention that for the past week I've been sick and been suffering an annoying cough -- as well as haven't been able to keep my thoughts straight. No idea when next update will be. A few days or sometime next week even._


	8. 07: Loss

Star Fox : Universe

Episode 7

Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

* * *

**Loss

* * *

  
**

"Guys! Lookout!" Slippy shouted over the radio. "Unknown aircraft approaching and fast!"

As Fox and Falco looked up from their location they could see several shots of plasma were already hailing towards them. Fox immediately jumped off the wolfen, back onto the docking bay, and along with Falco began running through the maze of ships to find cover.

"We need to get away from these ships, Fox!" Falco exclaimed. "These can explode and take us with them!"

There was another rain of fire pummeled down upon them and, as Falco had warned, several of the ships exploded as a result. Debris began to litter the docking bay as Fox looked around to survey the current situation. Overhead the fighter was attempting to circle back and repeat its assault.

"Falco, we'll have to make a run for it back to our arwings," Fox concluded.

"Are you crazy?! That's on the other side of our position!" He had a point; when they ran they were running toward the base and not to their fighters. "Watch out! Here he comes again!"

"Stay here! I'll distract him. Once I grab his attention make a run toward your arwing!" He didn't allow Falco to argue back. After the enemy repeated his assault and flew past, Fox made a run for it, dodging all the debris that floated before him, being fortunate he was gifted with speed and agility compared to his colleagues. As he quickly jumped back into his arwing, the ship overhead once again repeated his rain of fire. Fox immediately activated his shields as ships around him erupted in fire from the blasts. His scanners indicated the shields remained at 100 percent, apparently not taking a direct hit. Whoever was attacking them had horrible aim, he thought.

"It's about time you got back to your ship," an angry voice growled onto his communicator.

"Wolf?!" Fox exclaimed incredulously, after recognizing the voice. "Just what are you up to?" He realized that he also wasn't in his usual wolfen, the ship design being foreign to him. "And who gave you that new ship?"

"Hah! This piece of junk?" the lupine mocked as he began a dangerous nosedive onto the docking bay below. His direction completely avoided Fox's arwing, but nonetheless, there was a crash and several explosions as many ships had met his path.

Fox immediately had his arwing take off to avoid the blasts and noticed Falco had already made his way back to his own arwing and was beginning to take off as well.

"Are you guys alright?" a worried Slippy asked.

"We're fine, but can't say the same for Wolf," Fox replied.

"That guy was Wolf?" Falco said in disbelief. "No way! He's a better pilot than that!"

"Touching, your concern makes me gag," Wolf replied over their frequency, his wolfen slowly raising from the flames and smoke. "I much prefer my own ship over that Pirate shit."

Both Fox and Falco adjusted their flight pattern and flew in a matter to corner the lone Wolfen. "To think we believed you wanted to help during the Anglar War, now you've gone and allied yourselves with those Pirates?" said Fox, disgusted. "Just how low do you go, Wolf?"

The Lupine growled in response. "If you would get off your high horse for a moment you'd listen to what I have to say. I ditched that blasted pirate fighter to avoid them monitoring my conversation!" He shot a few shots toward Fox's arwing, they harmlessly missing by a few inches. "Shoot back, fool! This is gonna have to look as believable as possible!"

Falco complied, though he made sure he didn't miss, Wolf's shields taking the brunt of the shots.

"You jack ass! I didn't say hit me!" he shouted.

Falco gave a curt laugh. "Just what are you up to now, Wolf? Where are your two buddies?" He returned next to Fox's arwing, blasting a few more shots but making sure he missed this time.

"They're in the Pirate Frigate," scowled Wolf. "I'm doing this alone because I do not want to endanger them."

Fox hesitated, unsure what to do. "Go on and speak then, and make it quick."

"Glad that you finally take me seriously," mocked Wolf. "Alright, these Pirates apparently are planning to attack Corneria any minute now, judging from the last conversation I heard. They've also been doing sorts of experiments on some of people they've managed to grab a hold of, as well as use them as food for a swarm of," he couldn't find the correct word to explain them, "insects."

"And what is your stand on this? Why are you telling us this?"

"I simply wanted his bounty off my head," he growled. "But it seems that I've ended up getting us all caught up in something way over our heads. And for now," he then sent a barrage of shots toward Fox and Falco, who instinctively dodged the shots and even barrel rolled to deflect a few others. "Get outta' here! Your needed elsewhere!"

"Wolf...," Fox was confused at his rivals actions, but after a second barrage of gunfire, he decided that they should take his word. Despite their past run-ins, Fox had known Wolf to be very concerned about his own team and would do anything for them. "Return to the Great Fox, Falco. We're heading back to Corneria!"

Good boy, thought Wolf. However, just before he could get closer to the arwings and continue his mock fire, he was surrounded by a bright green light. He squinted his eyes, confused as his wolfen refused to obey his commands. Taking a look behind him he could see that the gigantic Pirate Frigate had finally broken its stealth, and was now pulling him back in with a tractor beam. "Dammit!"

"Guys! Behind you!" warned Slippy as the radar suddenly illuminated with several dots emerging from the frigate.

Fox took that moment to look back, and instantly wish he hadn't. The Frigate that had appeared behind them was probably the largest ship he had ever seen. Escaping from it were several smaller ships, similar in design to the one that Wolf had destroyed, though after a moment Fox realized that they were all fleeing into different locations. In the distance he was able to make out the Wolfen slowly being pulled into the ship. "Wolf?!"

"Get out of here! Now!" Wolf demanded, his wolfen swallowed up by the frigate and all communication was blocked.

"Slippy," Fox said distraught, "as soon as we get on board, set course back to Corneria City. Immediately!"

Katt wasn't thrilled that her friend, Councilor Lane, had decided to lead the final tour for the Pirates. The poor feline, after hearing the truth about the Pirates, blamed her self for allowing things to go on as they had and wanted to find a way to make up for it. Though Katt had did her best to dissuade her friend, Lane remained resolute and even said her appearing would better cover their plans with the Pirates.

"Here we are, our final destination," Lane explained, as she led the Pirate Ambassador toward a tall, marble structure. Katt followed her closely, along with four other Cornerian guards. She tried to make her stares at the ambassador and his usual two followers as nonchalant as possible, but managed to see that his guards still had their blasters tethered to their belts.

Their current setting was a large city park, located in the center of the metropolis. The main icon of interest being a 2 story high, marble tower, similar in design to that of the Washington Monument on Earth. Hand carved onto the monument were several names; they were people of importance to Corneria.

"This, gentlemen," said Lane calmly, "is the Monument of Heroes. Neatly carved onto this marble tower are the names of the many men and women who served their planet and system and are recognized for their heroism and good will." She moved up closer and beckoned the Ambassador to take a good look at the names that she was pointed at. "These names here are of the brave members of the Star Fox mercenary squad."

Seemingly disinterested, the ambassador took a close look at the names. "We've been hearing a great deal about this Star Fox team lately," he mused. "I do hope that we can get to meet them very soon."

Katt shifted a bit uneasily as her communicator gave off a sharp beep, everyone turning their gaze upon her at the sudden disturbance. "Sorry," she nervously apologized as she moved away from the group to answer the call. "This is Katt, what is it?"

"We have a small problem," it was General Pepper.

"What do you mean a small problem?"

"About ten minutes ago Krystal let out that bounty hunter guy and left in a hurry."

"She WHAT?" she cried out, again gaining a few looks from the people around her. Lane fidgeted nervously as she saw her friend struggling over the communicator.

"Councilor Lane, wasn't it?"

The feline tensed up as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned around to meet the gaze of the ambassador. "Yes?" she asked with a short quiver in her voice.

"My people and I are very grateful for the kindness and interest that you of all the Cornerians have shown toward our race." He removed his hand and extended it toward her, as if asking for her to take it. "We wish for you to learn about our people in return. Come with us to our ship." She stood there, unable to answer.

"I can't believe you did this Krystal," Peppy shook his head disapprovingly as she and Lyle made their way to the worried hare. Peppy had set up a barrier along with his men at the entrance of the memorial park, ready to begin their assault when the signal was given. The officers gave Lyle and Krystal a confused look, unsure if they should arrest them or not.

"I apologize Peppy," Krystal started. "But I couldn't shake this feeling that something was going to go wrong. I felt it would be best to take him along, since he has experience with these Pirates."

Peppy gave her another look then turned his gaze to Lyle, unable to read his emotions with his face under his visor. "Alright, but after all this there may be some trouble and you'll have to explain your actions." Krystal and Lyle nodded. "Alright, what do you suggest?"

Lyle looked around him and at the officers. "I don't know what level of weaponry you all have equipped but make sure everything is set to maximum. There is a high chance that the Pirate's armor can deflect or even be immune to your shots." No one looked happy at this realization. He turned back to Peppy. "Does anyone have some sort of thermal scanner?"

"Yes, there is an option on our binoculars to switch to it, but we only use them at night," he replied, handing him a pair from a nearby officer. "Why do you ask?"

"Because to my knowledge, the Pirates rarely work alone. There's a chance that they too have their own troops around." He raised the binoculars over his eyes and looked into the distance, not seeing anything outside of the ordinary until he looked up in the air. "Oh dear God…"

Krystal gave him a nervous look, and Peppy, startled by his reaction took the binoculars away from Lyle and gazed into the direction he had been looking. In the sky, though invisible to the naked eye, were two red objects, ships that were under a stealth system.

"Sir!" a startled officer shouted out, also looking through a pair of binoculars. "Above us!"

Peppy changed his gaze and felt his heart sink as a third ship came to light through the binoculars. "This plan isn't going to work with our current numbers…they've more than likely have known we were here for a while now." The hare anxiously moved toward another officer and quickly said, "Contact Katt, and tell her to abort mission. Get Lane out of there!"

A loud scream came from the air above and the ship above them withdrew its cloaking device. The belly of the ship and six side doors quickly opened, releasing several Pirate Air Troopers; they were Pirates equipped with a jet pack as well as rocket launchers and plasma guns. However the source of the scream was moving faster than the troopers, a large draconic beast that quickly plummeted into the crowd.

"Federation scum!" it shrieked, as it extended a clawed hand and grabbed onto Lyle, flying off toward the direction of the monument.

The shriek was heard where Lane and Katt were standing and they all quickly looked toward the park entrance in surprise. With her attention off of him, the ambassador quickly grabbed hold of Lane, one arm around her neck and the other around her arms to restrict her movement. She let out a startled cry and Katt turned around to see that her friend was in trouble. Before she could react, the ambassador's two guards immediately lifted their blasters and fired several shots at the guards and Katt. All of them fell, unconscious.

"Katt!" Lane screamed out though her friend didn't respond.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but as priority dictates, you are of extreme value to us now. How very fortunate that you may bear witness to the truths that have been going on within the past week as you foolishly arranged to educate us about your race." The ambassador gave a short chuckle as the draconic figure made his entrance, holding a gray humanoid in his hand.

A few shots of blue energy erupted from the arm of the human, forcing Alpha to cry out in pain. In response the draconic pirate, about three stories above ground, threw the humanoid onto the ground, the ambassador immediately recognizing the armor as it landed on its feet, seemingly unharmed by the throw.

"Imagine that," mused the ambassador, "a federation officer out here in the middle of nowhere. Now that is surprising."

Lyle directed his gaze up at the dragon and then back down at the Pirate that was holding a cat woman hostage. He saw that he had been thrown next to Katt who lay unconscious on the floor next to him. Giving her a light kick, he tried to get her to wake up but it wasn't of any use.

The dragon perched himself at the top of the monument and spoke in a ferocious tone. "I found this one among the other garbage below our ship."

"So you've managed to have Ridley be a member of your ranks," Lyle shouted accusingly.

"The name is Alpha," the dragon replied sneeringly, "though I'm quite honored you would call me by my father's name."

So I was right on the money on the clone, thought Lyle. He directed his arm cannon toward the Pirate Ambassador. "Your act is over and done. The Cornerians are aware of who and what you are and are ready to strike back!" His words were echoed among the sounds of gunfire and explosions.

"Is that a threat?" mocked the Ambassador. "Just what can these people do? They enjoy their false sense of peace and tranquility and immediately overlook any war outbreak until it comes knocking at their front doors, as it has right now. Do you honestly believe that they would have any chance to stand up against us with their pathetic weaponry?" He could see that Lyle was bothered by his words. "You see, human, we've already managed to raise up a force large enough to crush this planet in a matter of days. However," he paused to think a few things over, "your appearance now explains that cursed fire wall that had forced us to make contact with these vermin in the first place. Even so, our scanners never picked up you or any federation activity within this system. Just how did you manage to sneak by us?"

Lyle was bewildered by the question. How could they have not been aware of him being trapped within their own wormhole and about his crash?

"Enough with the stalling, Raynord," Alpha complained. "Can I kill him already?" He stared at Lyle with a murderous gaze, his mouth wet with drool and bloodlust.

"Dr. Raynord?" asked Lyle, getting the attention of the Ambassador once more. "So you were the one responsible for this wormhole experiment."

He grunted and took a few seconds to think of his next words. Hesitantly he turned to Alpha, "Yes, go off and kill him. He'll just get in the way later." Alpha squealed in monstrous delight. "I'll be taking this one back to the frigate."

Lyle attempted to run after him but Alpha immediately thrust his tail in front of him, the sharpened end digging deep into the cement. "You forget already that you're my prey?" he jeered. Lyle groaned in disgust as he saw Raynord, along with his two guards and the cat woman, being elevated on a platform, the ship receiving them appearing from its invisible cloak, and quickly taking off into space.

Alpha pulled his tail free from the asphalt as he saw that Lyle was slowly backing up. Before he could pounce onto him, a blast of fire knocked him down from his perch and forced him to clumsily fall to the ground, the monument breaking in two.

"Are you alright?" shouted a frightened Krystal, as she joined Lyle by his side. They both shared a quick glance before she placed her attention back onto Alpha, her staff pointed in his direction, the tip glowing a fierce green.

"I'm alright," Lyle answered, noticing that Alpha was already getting up and his own visor blaring with warnings and cautions. This clone was gifted in melee combat, though was capable of generating plasma based fire from his mouth, it warned. Alpha was mutated so that his claws too were charged with energy capable of ripping metal to shreds. The danger level was raised to maximum.

"So just how do we fight this thing?" asked Krystal, her tone rather calm and her gaze serious.

Lyle didn't know how to answer, as this would be the first time he ever fought against anything similar to Ridley. Before he could think up of anything or answer, Alpha opened his mouth wide and howled at them, his breath growing hot as his oral cavity slowly illuminated a bright red. "Dodge!" Lyle barked out and jumped out of the way as a fiery blast was released towards them.

He had expected there to have been a large outburst but it never came. Just a small muffled roar. Looking up from his position on the ground he saw that they were surrounded in a transparent green dome and realized that Krystal had set up a force field. "Nice," he whispered while getting back to his feet, Krystal retracting the shield.

Alpha, though, wasn't pleased at all with the change in situation. "I see you are different among the others we've examined," he remarked harshly towards the blue fox. "We'll make sure to get a more reliable reading about you!" He leapt up into the air and used his wings to create a strong blast of wind that knocked Krystal back.

Lyle realized that Alpha was planning on keeping a distance and fighting from the air. He wasn't going to let him get his way that easily. Extending his left arm upward, he let his electric grapple attach to Alpha's tail and was pulled off the earth below as the Pirate general looked back at him with disgust.

"I'm sorry, but this ride isn't free!" it sneered, immediately altering his flight pattern into something more erratic. Being located within the center of Corneria City, the park perimeter was surrounded by skyscrapers of various heights, meaning that Lyle was going to have to be cautious on where he aimed his shots. He struggled to raise his right arm and fired a few blasts toward Alpha, who merely continued flying and suggested no signs of pain.

Alpha, however, was very keen on using their surroundings to his advantage. Despite Lyle holding on to his tail firmly with the grapple, he had little to do in matters of controlling where the inertia took him. As they approached a building, the pirate swung around in a way so that the bounty hunter was flung against the walls. Lye hit the wall hard, leaving a decent sized indent but didn't seem too phased by the impact. He took aim once more to fire a few more shots toward Alpha. Dissatisfied with the result, the Pirate then repeated his technique in an effort to get the hunter off his tail.

Down below, the action wasn't going any smoother. Around her, Krystal could here the cries of the Cornerian officers and the blaring of blasters going off and above her she could see that the draconic pirate was giving Lyle a hard time, though how she would be able to assist him from her current location escaped her. Katt soon began to stir, and she quickly moved to her side.

"Katt, are you alright?"

The feline groaned and clutched her left chest. "I'm fine," she struggled to say. "Where is Lane? What happened?"

The vixen shook her head in response. "She wasn't here when I got here."

The feline looked around frantically, not seeing her friend among the unconscious guards. "No! They took her!" She attempted to get up but gasped in pain instead. "Ugh I was careless." Krystal helped her get back to her feet but they were both quickly knocked back as Lyle was thrust face first onto the ground before them, Alpha landing by the broken memorial statue and howling in triumph.

"My God! Lyle!" Katt screamed amidst Alpha's hysterical laughter. Being the first time she saw the Pirate general she gasped and jumped back, Krystal taking position before her and Lyle, staff raised.

Just like Katt, the Cornerian guards who were previously knocked out began to stir and get up, unaware of the current situation. Krystal raised up her force field once more to prevent any harm from reaching them and commanded, "Get out of here! Help the others!" After taking a look at the vixen and then to Alpha, they didn't deviate from her demand and quickly ran the other way. She looked at Lyle who was struggling to get back up on his knees, sparks of electric flaring from his suit.

"Are you alright," asked Katt, helping him get to his feet with her free arm.

"I'm fine," he groaned, and glared at Alpha, who was trying to figure out how to get around the little dome that the blue fox had created. He felt his stomach sink as his scanner reported that the pirate was still able to attack with 95 efficiency. Whatever he was doing wasn't putting much of a dent onto him.

"What do we do now?" Krystal asked, her voice strained. Lyle realized she couldn't keep the shield up for too long.

Unfortunately, the moment she spoke, Alpha realized this as well. "You just die," he mocked, already beginning to gather energy into his mouth to repeat his plasma fire.

At that instant Lyle's scanner began a graphic display of warnings and cautions. However, it was also the first time that a weak spot was located about Alpha: the mouth. "_Krystal_," Lyle began urgently, "_am I able to run outside of this forcefield?"_

"_Yes, it only keeps things out," _she replied, surprised by the current telepathic conversation.

Good, he thought, already charging his arm cannon to maximum, the blue energy growing brighter by the second. He quickly made a run for it, despite Katt and her disapproving cries, and toward the draconic pirate who's his mouth opened wide. The sudden movement had caught the pirate off guard, and he instinctively turned to follow Lyle's movements.

Target was almost ready to fire, his scanner warned. Seeing that his opportunity had come, Lyle quickly took aim and fired the massive shot or telepathic energy into the dragon's mouth, resulting in an bright and magnificent explosion. The force of it knocked Katt and Krystal off their feet, consequently taking the force field down, whereas Lyle manage to hold position, using his left hand to block out the fierce light from the blast. Visibility slowly returned to normal despite all the smoke in the air.

The silence was soon broken by an furious scream and Alpha rose above the smoke and dust, hovering in the air above the three of them, his mouth wide open and dripping with blood. He kept his eyes focused onto Lyle, the blood lust showing through his enraged, red eyes. He tensed up his hands and extended his claws, preparing to strike with a deadly blow. He swooped down from his position and attempted to ram into the hunter but instead was met with a barrage of plasma fire coming from the sky above, sending him sprawling back onto the ground.

"Looks like you've managed to get yourself into a lot of trouble," said Fox using Lyle's communication signal, his arwing along with Falco's and Slippy's circling overhead of them.

"Fox!" Krystal cried out, looking up into the air, Lyle slowly matching her and Katt's gaze. They didn't pay attention to Alpha who slowly got back to his feet and shouted indistinct curses into the sky.

The vulpine looked at the chaos below their arwings; Lyle, Krystal and Katt struggling with the draconic pirate and Peppy struggling with his men to combat the pirate air troopers. "Falco, you and Slippy assist Peppy with those Pirates. I'll help out Krystal and the others with that big guy." He adjusted his communication to match up with Lyle's. "Alright Aeyr, seems like you've managed to hold your own for now, but starting now, we're gonna have to work together. I'll keep this guy occupied from the air while you-"

"Keep him busy on the ground," Lyle interrupted. "His claws are charged, Fox. One careless move and he can tear your ship in shreds."

The vulpine gave a short chuckle. "Don't worry. This thing is going to learn that the Star Fox reputation is all that it's hyped out to be. And he'll be learning the hard way!"

To be continued...

_**

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Next Episode: Desperate Move

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Falco, Peppy and Slippy attempt to keep control of the situation around the city while Fox, Lyle and Krystal keep Alpha occupied. However when things start to go sour, will Lyle be forced to use his wild card in the battle?

_Notes: This chapter actually took more writing than I had originally thought O.o. I was expecting to have finished this fight between Fox, Lyle and Alpha by the end but was surprised to see that I'm already over 4,000 words with this! However, I think in the end it is a good thing, as I felt that I didn't cover much of the occurrences from the pirate Air troopers vs. Peppy and his men. Compared to all the other chapters I still feel a bit dissatisfied with this one. Might edit this a bit more later. Longest chapter so far... -.-_

_On another note, my cough is finally starting to go away, after 2 weeks… -.-. Just in time for finals and shit…joy._


	9. 08: A Desperate Move

Star Fox : Universe

Episode: 8

Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

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A Desperate Move

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**

There was a sudden break in the assault the Pirates had been putting up as everyone looked up at the sky, witnessing the arrival of the three arwings. It was as if everyone's confidence had been given a great boost and some of the Cornerian officers below began throwing out triumphant cries as their assaulters in the air were confused as how to adjust to the new situation.

"You guys alright down there," said Falco over Peppy's communicator. The old hare gave a worried smile and answered, "Great for you boy's to show up! We've managed to keep these Pirates occupied, but they just keep coming! There have been a few losses on our side but it doesn't seem as if the Pirates have suffered much."

Falco frowned as he looked at the situation below from his arwing. The perimeter of the vast park was in a chaotic frenzy, green blaster fire lighting up from the distance as the Pirates and Cornerians continued to fight. He could see that the park itself was becoming a mess, several trees knocked down, the monument in pieces, and Aeyr and Fox attempting to keep the dragon Pirate occupied. Falco was amazed that someone as small as Aeyr was managing to keep up with such a monster outside of an arwing.

"Slippy, can you give us a reading about these Pirates along with their two ships?" Peppy cried over their communication lines. "They're attempting to break through our barriers and further into the city! We need to keep them contained so they don't cause anymore damage!"

"Working on it," replied the toad anxiously, noticing how persistent the Pirates were becoming. He hit a few more keys on his arwing console and grinned as he heard a chime, his work completed. "Alright, it's done."

"What's the word, Slip?" the tone in Peppy's voice growing even more anxious.

"The ships themselves are not much of a threat at the moment," he began, "however they house about one hundred pirates each."

"Just one hundred!?" shouted Falco incredulously. "Our guys should've been able to take them down easily!"

"There's a small problem. The armor that these Pirates and those Air Pirates are wearing is completely resistant to beam weaponry. Even at maximum power our guns won't do anything to them!" Slippy paused, looking over the information on his monitor a few more times. "Those air guys though; it seems that their only weakness at the moment is their engines. If you target those, you should be able to take them down."

"Alright, we'll try and take care of those guys if we can. What about the guys on foot?" Peppy was trying his best to cover his ears and hear better while wielding a small pistol, shooting toward the direction of the Pirates as his group was slowly being forced backwards, deeper into the city.

"I'm sorry, Peppy, I can't find anything with this data," he admitted sadly. "I'll need to do a more thorough scan to find out."

"Well let's see how they react to arwing fire," dared Falco, as he descended his arwing closer to the ground, charging his lasers and letting the energy rain down onto the ruined street below. The attack had caught the Pirates by surprise, who turned to look back as the aircraft zoom overhead of them. A few of the shots hit the Pirates, breaching their tough armor as they were knocked back, dead, while the concussive force tore the armor off the others, the sound similar to that of shattered glass.

"Falco!" shouted Peppy. "There are still buildings with civilians around, be careful!" He used his hands to wave away the dust as he coughed. He could hear the rough cries of the Pirates had grown louder and more anxious than they were before.

"I'll be careful," the avian replied. "But it seems that I did something to 'em after all."

Looking ahead, Peppy had to agree, seeing a few pirates scattered limply on the damaged road, the transparent yellow armor that they wore missing or shattered on a few others. The officers behind him also began to take notice of this, one being bold enough to shoot at one pirate as it fell back from the blast, a hole through its chest.

The other men grew courageous at the sight, following suit with their own gunfire, the Pirates now backing up in bewildered fright.

Through the smoke rose an Air Trooper, still fully equipped. Seeing Peppy among the Cornerian crowd, he let out a loud, shrill cry as he prepared to lunge toward the hare. As he got closer, a few blaster shots from behind him managed to strike the engine of his booster. In surprise the pirate attempted to turn around, but with his engines out he lost control and was forced into a rapid spin as he crashed onto the nearest wall, his engine moaning louder and louder until it was shrieking. There was a small explosion as the Pirate took the full blast and Katt emerged from the dust, one hand still holding onto her chest.

"Careful! One of us is out there!" cried out Peppy, as Katt carefully made her way toward him amidst the blaster fire and rubble. "What happened? Are you alright?"

She groaned in disgust. "The Ambassador took Lane. Lyle and Krystal are still there trying to deal with that…thing." She looked back in their direction, her face still wearing a sour grimace. "It doesn't look good for them. I don't know how they're going to take it down."

"I'm sure Fox will think of something," Peppy comforted as his communicator began to ring. "Peppy here, what is it?"

"Peppy, it's Pepper," the hound said, his voice tense. "Our satellite has picked up more of those Pirate ships attempting to get into our atmosphere. A few have breached and the rest are engaged with our squad stationed there, but they won't hold out for too long." He paused, Peppy hearing his friend sigh nervously. "How are things going on out there?"

"Not too good to be honest. We've managed to take down a few of the Pirates with Falco's help, but other than that, most of them are still well defended. Our weaponry isn't cutting it out here!" He and Katt turned to return fire from the incoming Pirates.

"I see," muttered Pepper. "I'll send a few troops toward you to help with the situation there. Once those are settled, have the Star Fox crew meet up with our men above. Pepper out."

"What happened?" Katt asked him curiously as the hare lowered his hand from his ear.

"Pepper. We'll be getting back up soon," he said giving her a look.

The feline gave a sigh a relief as she looked up toward at the sky, seeing the two arwings scrambling among the air troopers. Their armor was not resistant to the greater power the lasers from the arwings used, and upon being shot many were immediately killed or knocked off the air, exploding in a bright flare as they hit the ground.

"We've got some trouble!" exclaimed Slippy, as his sensors began to scream warnings on his screen. "Those Pirate ships are switching to an offensive stance! Watch out for their front laser!"

Three shots rushed toward Falco while he was finishing off two more Pirates, nearly catching him off guard. He quickly angled his arwing, avoiding two of the shots and his shields taking the third. His eyes grew wide as he noticed the one hit had lowered them down to 60 already. "Jeez! I thought you said those things weren't a threat!"

"At that time, they weren't," Slippy replied fiercely. And in a lighter tone, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the avian said with scorn. "Well what do we do about those ships now?"

"Give me a sec," Slippy took out an air trooper and typed a few commands on his on board console. "Got it," he announced, the schematics of the ship appearing on his screen. "That weapon may be powerful, but if you take it out there's a great chance the resulting blast will take the ship down as well."

"You mean like this?" grinned Falco, speeding towards the ovular Pirate ship. He could hear Slippy disagree with his actions over the com but chose to ignore it. A few remaining troopers took sight of him along with the ship, struggling with their own weapon fire to keep him away. However, Falco was an expert pilot; he adjusted his speed and dodged most of the fire, barrel rolling any that got too close. The target locked on, his fingers tightened on the trigger.

* * *

Alpha landed roughly a few feet away from Lyle as he heard the explosion in the sky. He craned his head upward and snarled at the Pirate loader as it descended in a haze of fire and smoke. Turning his attention back to the hunter, Alpha quickly dodged the two shots that came from him and the blue vixen following close behind. With a howl, he fired another blast of energy from his mouth as Krystal quickly rose up her shield to block it.

The Pirate growled in frustration and made for the air, only to be quickly bombarded with fire from Fox from above, forcing him to retreat back onto the ground as the arwing began to circle back for another assault.

"Things are fine up here. Keeping him down isn't all that bad," chuckled Fox to Lyle.

The human shook his head, unable to withhold a smile himself. "I'm sure I could've handled well by myself," he said, his tone playful. "But I'm sure Star Fox couldn't let someone else take the glory from him now, could he?"

"Ho! Is this the real you emerging from that robotic mask?" he laughed.

"Nnn…" The real him, a phrase he had heard his colleagues beg him to be when he first chose to become bounty hunter. Lyle couldn't understand why he felt at ease working with Fox, despite the seriousness of the situation.

Alpha glared back at him, and at the air at the arwing. "I will NOT be made a joke of!" he shrieked. Though as he judged his situation, he knew as long as that arwing was in the air he would not be able to get any advantage against Lyle on the ground; the amount of power this hunter possessed was beyond his expectations. His eyes jumped from the armored hunter toward the blue fox. Despite being the least offensive, the vixen's defensive capabilities had prevented him from reaching the hunter or herself. It left the fighter in the air the easiest of the three of them. As the arwing returned from its circle, Alpha shot out another blast of plasma toward the vixen, instantly raising the shield, and took off into the air while they were occupied.

"Hah! So the big guy finally wants to play," Fox said in an amused tone, a small window appearing on his screen showing the enraged Pirate following him closely.

He allowed his arwing to rise a bit higher into the sky, above the skyscrapers and people while still making sure his target was following. Satisfied with his height, he leveled his flight pattern and did a loop, causing him to switch positions with Alpha, now in front him, and fired. None of the shots connected, as the dragon merely careened to the side and allowed Fox to fly past him. Making his turn around, the vulpine saw his mouth already growing red as plasma shot out in his direction. The spiraling orbs moved toward him at a rather slow pace than what he had expected; Fox easily flew past them and returned to his assault on Alpha.

However, the Pirate descended a bit to get out of his firing range, mouth still glowing red and spitting out more of the slow red orbs.

"Fox! They're homing in on you!" he heard Lyle exclaim and as he made his looped his arwing back, he could see that the orbs were in fact following him and were even beginning to pick up speed.

His radar indicated that there were approximately 50 of them in the air. As he approached the energy field he swerved his arwing to the left and stayed on the outside of the area, the orbs quickly changing direction to match his.

Suddenly everything went dark, the glass of his cockpit covered by the body of Alpha as the Pirate had leapt on top of him. Fox looked up in shock, caught off guard by the action, his sensors blaring as he was being forcibly directed into the energy field.

He frantically kept shifting the controls left to right, the arwing teetering in similar fashion. Yet the hold Alpha had held firm, the ship finally facing the plasma field which quickly grew in their approach. Fox could hear the Pirate laughing hysterically above him.

In his desperation, Fox quickly sent his arwing into a barrel roll, the extra weight of Alpha forcing the craft to spin faster than usual, his G-Diffuser system struggling to maintain proper order. Light returned to his face, his eyes squinting to readjust; Alpha was not able to hold on due to the increased inertia.

Fox felt his stomach sink as realized he had ran straight into one of the plasma spheres. Everything went red as he closed his eyes, the heat increasing tremendously inside the cockpit. He could hear his console erupting in static sparks and stiffened his grip onto the controls as the arwing shook violently. And just as soon as it happened, the light returned to normal. Fox opened his eyes, realizing his ship was rapidly descending, his screen warning that his shields had been completely compromised.

A shadow flickered overhead and looking up, Fox saw the dragon ready to repeat his attack on him. He pulled back on the controls, his arwing changing into a steady ascent. Fox took notice that above him there were still several charged areas of plasma homing onto his ship. Taking his chances, he fired a few rounds toward into the swarm, and made a hard right away from the resulting explosion. He was surprised how wide the force of the was as his ship drifted away from his direction a bit and he struggled to maintain direct control.

What happened next, even Fox couldn't make any sense of. To his left, a large claw emerged and slashed at his wing, the metal ripping with little to no resistance. His arwing immediately wobbled and began to quickly descend toward the earth below. To make matters worse, Alpha once again grabbed hold of his ship, allowing it to increase speed as he directed it back toward Krystal and Lyle below.

"Shit, shit, SHIT!" Fox howled; his eject sequence malfunctioning with the added weight on his cockpit. Then things began to glow a bright red once more and Fox looked up in horror as he met Alpha's gaze, his mouth already charged.

As he closed his eyes, his ears could hear the explosion and the shattering of glass. Everything around him turned a bright red hue; even he could "see" it with his eyes closed. There was a loud shriek from behind him, followed by a sequence of several more explosions. Fox had nearly forgotten about the orbs following him during his descent.

After a few moments and realizing that he was still thinking, he slowly opened his eyes to find himself and his damaged arwing surrounded by a gentle blue light. The glass of his cockpit was gone, his ears able to pick up the cries of soldiers and gunfire in the distance. A bit away, he caught sight of Lyle, his left arm directed towards Fox, his hands shining a matching blue to the light.

"Are you going to keep sitting there or get out?" Lyle barked out roughly, his voice tense.

The vulpine blinked, a bit startled. He unbuckled off his seat and climbed through the broken glass, making sure his blaster was still tethered to his waist. As his feet touched the ground, he finally saw that his ship was hovering a mere few inches above the ground. Alpha lay a few feet away on his back, breathing heavy, angry breaths. Fox gave a jump as the ship finally collapsed onto the ground, the metal groaning on the impact.

Lyle had lowered his arm, and bent over, his arm and cannon resting on his knees as he gasped for air. "That was too close, Fox," he said, looking up at him. "If Krystal hadn't blasted him I wouldn't have been able to save you."

Fox looked over at the Vixen, her gaze jumping from Alpha to him. She didn't smile. There was no relief in her expression. She only had on a mask of increased worry, her eyes shimmering as if about to cry. "Krystal…" Fox stumbled. She closed her eyes as if pained to hear his voice. "Thank you."

The green haze finally lifted as Krystal lowered her staff, disabling the shield she had raise up once again. Smoke and steam slowly fell onto their setting, another explosion heard from above; probably another pirate ship had fallen. It was difficult to tell with visibility once again hindered.

"He's still alive," Fox heard Lyle mutter, his gaze over to where Fox last saw the dragon. There was a shrill cry coming from its direction, Lyle letting out a dry laugh in response. "And he's very angry."

The trio were able to make out a new figure had appeared next to Alpha as the smoke slowly thinned out. His appearance caused Lyle to stiffen, and quickly he thrust his cannon arm forward, taking a small step back, Fox giving him a curious look.

The figure was cloaked in green and towered over the limping Alpha. He stood a good 6 or 7 feet and despite the disguise, it was obvious he was very strongly built. "Why now, do you cry?" his voice was cool, calm, and sinister.

Alpha growled in reply, "I don't need your lecturing now, Mahat!" He struggled to get up but couldn't even lift up his own weight, groaning in disappointment.

"But you see here, Alpha, it looks like you have been outdone. How could someone of your upbringing fall victim to such weak prey? Is this limit of the Pirates? It's quite the disappointing to see the second in command fall before his prime." Mahat chuckled as Alpha bore his teeth at him. "Is this the way you treat someone who is merely trying to help you?"

At these words the dragon pirate relaxed, his eyes curious.

"By my power," Mahat chanted, "and of the blessings of the God of Time, I grant upon you the power to smite your enemies!" He raised his hands upward, enveloping Alpha in a blanket of indigo light.

"NO!" Lyle took a quick step forward and shot frantically at the mysterious figure and Alpha, the shots deflecting or being absorbed by the light. Seeing his efforts meaningless, he lowered his arm, panting heavily. Fox and Krystal gave him a concerned look, unsure of why he acted that way.

The light dimmed and then vanished, Alpha back on his two hind legs, examining his healed body. Realizing he was back to his full potential, he looked toward Fox and Lyle, grinning.

However Lyle's gaze remained on the hooded figure, as he slowly turned to face them, revealing his jackal like face, his eyes glowing red. "Hmm, could you be the one who killed Geb and Nyut?" Lyle responded with a few more rounds, Mahat laughing as his shield deflected all the shots. "Aeyr…interesting. How very interesting…" his voice faded along with his appearance until nothing remained. Lyle looked around, frantically trying to find him.

"Aeyr, Aeyr!" Fox cried out, grabbing hold of his arm. Lyle looked back at him and for the first time Fox could see his eyes behind his visor. "He's gone. He's not here," he said, his voice comforting. Fox looked back at Alpha, who still wore a huge grin on his face. "What was that? How did he know you?"

"Not now, Fox," warned Krystal, raising her staff once more, she and Lyle returning their attention to Alpha.

"He's back at 100 percent efficiency," mumbled Lyle, Fox sharing his disgust.

"More than likely he'll try to return to his aerial advantage," Krystal informed, seeing how Alpha had begun stretching his wings out as he howled toward them, mouth glowing red all over again.

"The mouth!" Lyle exclaimed. "It's his weak point, shoot it!" He already had his arm cannon lifted and fired along with Krystal who shot a blast through her staff. Fox realized he was the only one standing still took his blaster to arms, firing alongside them.

Alpha grunted as he was knocked back, closing his mouth before the damage would cause another blast. He glared at the trio, realizing he'd have to swiftly change his strategy and prepared to make for the air.

Fox watched the dragon hover in front of them, his tail shifting from left to right as he thought of a way to counter this. He turned to Krystal, giving her a concerned look. "Krys," he started, haven't called her that name since their year apart, "I'm gonna need you to do something for us."

She looked at him with worried eyes. "You want me to sit back again, don't you?" She sighed and looked away from him. "You've always been like this."

"I'm sorry," he murmured, Lyle giving them both a quick glance before returning back to Alpha. "Your shield. Can you reverse it?" The vixen looked back at him, unsure of what he meant. "Instead of keeping things out, can you keep us in?" He explained.

She sighed, realizing that he wanted her to imprison them to prevent Alpha from flying too high. "I've never done it before," she confessed. "But I can give it a try. Just….don't get near the perimeter. It'll probably hurt." She took a step back and held her staff with both her hands in front of her. It began to shine an emerald green as slowly, the green haze returned and Lyle and Fox were trapped inside the vast green dome, its radius large enough to surround the entire garden of the destroyed monument. "Fox, Lyle," Krystal whispered to herself, "be careful."

Alpha, in an attempt to ascend higher, was met with a heavy electric shock as his body collided with the force field. He landed on his feet and glared at the vixen, safely outside of the dome. Looking up, he judged that the maximum height was about 5 stories, which wasn't compared to his height. "Clever…very clever."

"Alright Aeyr," said Fox, both their gazes still on Alpha. "This will be the first time I've every worked with you on foot now. I'll confess I'm a bit curious on how you will do."

"Charming," he replied. "But on foot I'm at my best." His confidence made Fox smile. "Keep your blaster at max output, his hide is still very strong even without that pirate armor."

"Weak point is the mouth."

"Yes. Oh and Fox," he gave him a look, a bit concerned. "Don't get hit at all. You probably won't survive…"

The vulpine laughed at the comment. "Trust me. I've been in a similar situation before."

Their conversation finished, they both broke out into a charge towards the waiting Alpha. As they made their approach, the pirate turned and swept his tail to knock them over. Fox jumped back to avoid the blow whereas Lyle jumped over it, his boot thrusters allowing him to jump much higher than normal and took the opportunity to fire three spherical blasts of blue energy, the concussions knocking Alpha off his stance and forcing him to succumb to the directional influence.

Fox banked a wide right, using his agility to run past the dragon's claws as he swiped at him, the earth below slightly trembling upon the impact. The vulpine shifted his body to fire off several shots from his blaster, the green shots leaving scorch marks onto Alpha's leathery skin.

Giving a defiant howl, the Pirate raised his other arm in an attempt to slash at Fox but met resistance in his efforts. He looked behind him and saw that Lyle had used his grapple beam to pull back his arm, allowing Fox a safe retreat. Alpha struggled to free his hand, screeching in hate as fox took the chance to continue firing at him. With a strong pull, the Pirate had Lyle thrust up into the air towards him.

He could see Alpha opening his mouth wide open, expecting him to have been pulled into his crushing jaws. He released his grapple and allowed his suit thrusters to negate the original inertia while charging a blast straight into the pirate's mouth once more; the pirate gagged amidst the blue smoke that erupted from the blast and falling backwards.

Fox joined up beside him as he landed from the jump, giving him a quick nod. Lyle returned the gesture by using his left hand to pat him on the head between the ears. Fox blinked and gave him an incredulous look. He laughed at the his surprise.

Alpha watched them in a furious rage. They were enjoying bullying him! He roared at them, angry and hateful, only to be met with a few blaster rounds into the mouth, knocking him back once more. His palate was already burning from the repeated fire.

He glared at his two foes and decided it would be best once more to try and separate them to get rid of them one at a time. However with the dome keeping them inside he had to change his options. _The fox_, he thought, examining his fleshy body and single blaster, _wouldn't stand a chance against me alone_.

He gazed over at Lyle, still clad in his grey GF armor. This, however, was as far as the similarities he and standard fighters had. Alpha made note to realize that his suit was modified beyond the usual, donning a grappling beam, space jump capabilities as well as a cannon that was capable of charging energy, shooting quickly as well as launching concussive blasts. The similarities to the female hunter he had been warned about were disgustingly close. The human was once again, the biggest threat…

Having made up his mind, he leapt at the pair, forcing them to split into opposite directions. As Lyle jumped out of the way, Alpha swerved his body, the base of his tail making contact and batting the human into the walls of the force field, a slight jolt of electric shocking him as he gasped in surprise.

Alpha chose to ignore him for the meantime, leaping once more toward Fox, claws outstretched. The vulpine struggled to jump out of the way from the furious lashes as he continued to charge at him, his head angled so that his mouth could freely charge up with plasma without being interrupted.

The shock had subsided as Lyle got back to his feet and shook his head as his suit's computer was rebooted from the static. His heart skipped a beat as he saw Fox break out into a run, attempting to get away from Alpha's claws and seeing his mouth already nearing full charge. He ran as fast as he could, to catch up with Fox as his scanner jumped from 89 percent...93 percent...97 percent readings. The only thing he could do, unable to get Fox out of the way from receiving the deadly blast of plasma was to take the hit himself. He rammed into Fox, pushing him aside and raise his shields.

Fox gasped as he saw Lyle struggle to stand against the stream of energy erupting before him, his blue shields melding with the red blast into a violet flare of light. The smoke grew thick around them, the air around them trapped within the confines of the dome.

Lyle bent over once more, his hand and cannon at his knees as he caught his breath. Even Fox could hear the incessant warnings that were coming from Lyle's suit that had begun to spark small jolts of electric. Over his eyes, he could read the scrolling line, "Suit Shield Supply Dangerously Low."

And from the smoke before him, emerged Alpha, in full leap. His claws already extended and his expression fierce as he took a great swipe at the human.

His shields exhausted, what little remained of his defense vanished as the charged claw met the metal of his abdomen, tearing away at its plating, penetrating deep into his flesh, the blood spraying onto the cement as Lyle gave a surprised cry.

"Lyle!?" cried out Fox, unable to see the tail being swung at him as he was knocked off the ground and flying into the force field walls. He was held in place, howling in pain from the electrical shock before he collapsed onto the ground, Krystal gasping seeing his silhouette appearing in front of her, and immediately dropped the shield as she ran toward the unconscious Fox.

She was glad to see him still breathing, but wasn't relieved amidst the cries of pain from Lyle and the hysterical laughter coming from the Pirate.

As the smoke cleared, Krstyal gasped in horror as the two came into view. Alpha was unable to control his laughter, his right hand gripping tightly onto Lyle as his blood continued to fall.

"So where's this big, bad soldier now?" he mocked as Lyle struggled to keep his eyes focused onto Alpha. His vision was slowly blurring, the pain in his abdomen nearly knocking him out from its intensity.

His visor revealed one final option, Lyle barely able to make out the words.

Kinetic Release. His wild card.

He had never used this since he had received this new modified suit. Yet, with his life slowly disappearing, there was no other option left for him. The grip that Alpha had on him was gradually growing tighter, the pain increasing too much. _Please...go_, he cried in his mind.

Alpha gave the dying human a curious look as the suit began to blink a harsh violet, steadily burning his hand until he felt a searing pain crawl through his body. Both figures were entrapped within a strong pillar of pure, psionic energy; its power ripping into the sky and dispersing as it reached the edge of space. There was no time for Alpha to scream or cry out as the telepathic radiation tore his body to shreds.

Krystal covered her eyes and raised a shield around her and Fox as the force of the blast had caused wave after wave of energy to lash out in all directions. Trees were torn to bits, the ground would erupt when struck, and even the surrounding buildings had their facades shattered.

When the light began to fade, the vixen looked to see the devastated landscape around her. Ahead, she could see Lyle down on his knees, looking up at the sky as his suit faded in a spectacle of lights, disappearing until nothing remained of his hard exterior.

He gasped, struggling to breath as he felt the hot summer air on his skin and slowly opened his eyes, no longer under the protection of his visor. Instantly he fell on all fours, blood spewing out of his mouth as he coughed. Before he completely lost consciousness, he could have sworn that a small blue fox was standing beside him.

_**

* * *

Next Episode: Force Your Way!

* * *

  
**_

Lyle and Fox are now out of the picture, and Krystal tries to tend to both of them in the Cornerian Hospital. Inside the Pirate ship, how will Wolf explain his actions in front of the machine that has been monitoring him and all the criminals of Lylat? And what of the three remaining officers trapped within the Pirate Frigate?

_Notes: Ah, the longest chapter so far in this story. I'm actually really proud of this one, despite some areas had me struggling. For now though, I'll put up some information about the people/characters involved thus far in the story! :D._

**xXxXx Scans of Lylat xXxXx**

**Armored Pirate Trooper**: These pirates are resistant to beam weaponry and originate from Metroid Prime 3. They are weak, however, to concussive blasts as well as heavily concentrated fire, as seen when Falco shot at them from his arwing. Once their armor has been compromised they're not that hard to deal with.

**Air Trooper**: A pirate whom is equipped with a sturdy jet pack, missile launcher as well as a blaster. I hated these things in Metroid Prime with a passion. The ones involved in this story share the same armor as their land based comrades, being resistant to standard beam weaponry. If the jet pack's engine is shot several times, it will explode, taking the Pirate and those around it with him.

**Pirate Loader (Ship)**: Usually used for transport of troops to locations yet are capable of devastating fire. Their weak points are their own weapons system. Seen in Metroid Prime 3.

**Ridley Alpha**: The first of the Ridley clones sent along with the Pirate Frigate during the wormhole experiment. Tail and Claws are charged with energy capable of tearing the strongest metals to shreds. Despite his size, aerial expertise and strong melee capabilities, he isn't the most intelligent of his 26 brothers and sisters.

**Councilor Lane**: A feline who is one of the five responsible for governing Corneira. Her popularity is boasted in her heavy social work and volunteer services to the people of the Planet and she has become a household name across the Lylat system. Despite her good will, she is the most naive of the Cornerian leaders.

_**4/6/08 **__Now that most of the underhanded work is done, I'm actually reeeeally excited in adding more chapters to this story. However, as I've mentioned before, finals are drawing horribly close and the next update may be later than I'd like. Story is gonna begin taking some drastic turns from here on out, the following chapters or "episodes" were revised several times :. On another note, just what exactly is Bill Grey? Some stories have him portrayed as a Husky and images of him show differently (I admit I like the husky idea better)._

_When I thought up of Lyle's "Kinetic Release" I was thinking about Brawl's final smashes haha. Since his powers are similar to Samus, though to a lighter scale, I wanted to put in a way for him to utterly loose the suit after releasing that much energy and placing him in a more fragile state._

_Colors: I'm relying on the color spectrum, especially when it comes to the use of telepathic powers. Red being weakest, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet being the strongest. Lyle also already shares differences compared to Krystal in these stories, as Lyle is able to use his powers directly (as in lift up objects, and fire telepathic shots) whereas Krystal can manipulate elements with her Staff (sort of like in RF Online Oo...Cora...). More on this later as the story progresses._


	10. 09: Force Your Way!

Star Fox: Universe

Episode: 9

Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

**

* * *

Force Your Way!

* * *

  
**

The mood inside Pepper's office was tense; both Falco and Slippy were seated before the hound's desk wearing weary faces. General Pepper presently had his back turned to them, looking outside the windows of his office and into the distance, the twilight sun painting everything a red and orange hue. The damage that had been done to the city was currently contained within small portions of the commercial district, though patchy areas outside of the battles happened when the occasional Pirate ship managed to breach their defenses in space.

"How's Fox," asked Slippy meekly, breaking the silence.

Pepper coughed and turned around to meet their gazes, seeing Falco slumped in the chair with his arms folded and Slippy holding his own hands. "I don't know the exact situation, but from what I've been told he's fine with only minor injuries." This seemed to lift some of the weight off the two. Pepper hesitating before continuing. "As for your friend, Lyle, or Aeyr was it? I cannot say the same."

Falco shook his head by the reply as Slippy shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "And what about Katt?"

"You can ask me yourself," the feline replied, making her entrance, seemingly healthy.

"Katt," Falco started, jumping from his seat to face her. "A-are you okay?" He outstretched his arms to embrace her.

"Hey now, bird boy! It's not like I'm all that hurt," she said, her tone calm as she blushed and returned Falco's affection.

"Well, now that we're all here," said Pepper, regaining everyone's attention, "I'll explain to you why I called this quick meeting." Falco returned to his seat as Katt took a place on his lap. "The Pirates are slowly breaking through our main defenses in space. The Chancellor had already informed me that the majority of our military will be sent up to aid them. We want Star Fox to go up and assist them."

The hound turned to Falco, the avian giving him a quizzical look. "With Fox out for the meantime, we're going to be looking to you Falco."

His eyes grew big and if it wasn't for Katt on his lap he would've jumped up once more. "Me?! Wait, wait, wait, wait. You can't just jump the gun on me like this!"

"The timing is desperate, Falco," Pepper said hotly. "The men need the help up there! And with your skills, we're hoping that morale will boost and turn things to our favor."

Falco kept the angry look on his face, Katt placing a paw on his shoulder. "C'mon, Falco. Even you know what he says is true," she said, seeing that her words gave him some comfort. "You are an amazing pilot after all. And besides. Once Fox gets better he'll come back up and rejoin with us."

Falco hesitated. "Alright, alright," he said, throwing his hands up in the air, defeated. "I'll do it."

"That's good to hear," Pepper exhaled. "Before you go, Katt. Chancellor Redgis has requested you send out a signal to our active bases on the asteroid field. With that bounty hunter's firewall up we haven't been able to send out any distress signals."

"I'll work on it immediately," she replied as they all got up, ready to leave.

"Very well. All of you, good luck. Once Fox has recovered I assure you we will send him to help you immediately. And Falco," he allowed their eyes to meet before finishing. "We're counting on you."

* * *

The only noise audible in the dimly lit room was the sound of Krystals fingers striking the keyboard of her laptop, Fox resting silently next to her on a hospital bed. Outside the night sky was lit in a dim display of flashing lights as the struggle with the Pirates continued in space. But that was one of the last things on her mind.

For the past few hours, she had been using her magic to keep Lyle alive. She had ran into the hospital, screaming out orders and demands amidst the bewildered looks of the other doctors as they saw a human for the first time.

On the operating table they had discovered that the slash had ripped onto his lower left abdomen, merely a few centimeters away from severing his spine, and curved outward, heavily damaging his digestive system. It was helpful that the skin tight suit he wore underneath his armor was holding him together. Many of the other doctors and surgeons had quickly given up, but Krystal remained firm in her resolve, not knowing why she tried so hard to keep him alive.

The ordeal had put her healing abilities to the test, as she managed to repair his wounds and seal the cut. However the great loss of blood and possibly the mental strain his last attack required had left Lyle in a deep coma. Even she wasn't sure when he'd wake up once more.

Krystal stretched out her hands, allowing her fingers to rest from her typing and turned to look at Fox resting peacefully. Her heart had missed looking at his green eyes as he'd return from a mission, Marcus playfully running up as his father dropped to his knees to lift him up into the air. She wanted to turn away, feeling her eyes fill with tears but couldn't, keeping her gaze fixed onto his face. His body.

Setting aside her laptop, she moved over him and gently placed her hand on his cheek, unable to block the flow of silent tears from falling as her memories continued to reel through her head.

Fox groaned, disturbed by the water dripping onto his face and slowly opened his eyes, Krystal quickly pulling back and looking away as she wiped away her tears. "Krys," he called out, his voice confused.

"I'm here," she sniffled, trying to mask she had been crying. Once she was confident she had composed herself she turned to look at him, his gaze burning into her heart. "You had quite a hit. A few broken ribs and the electric shock, but I've patched all those up already. You'll be back to normal within a few hours."

Fox didn't remove his eyes off her face. "You've been crying," he concluded, seeing Krystal fluster as he said it. "Krys, I've known you for how many years now? I know when you're feeling down." She turned her head away as he tried to reach for her.

"So you say, Fox. Yet you still don't do anything about it." Her tone jabbed him in the stomach. "How can you read me when you refuse to talk to me? Just like before, you went off and threw me aside so you can play out there in space by yourself again. And then after all I've said, how can you even bring yourself to try and still treat me like your 'someone special'?"

He finally looked away, seeing the black of night on the windows. "I'm sorry."

She sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up again."

They remained silent for a good minute or two, both feeling awkward. "How is Aeyr," Fox asked, trying to keep conversation. "I couldn't see what happened to him in the smoke before I was knocked out."

The vixen sighed again. "He almost didn't make it. That pirate nearly sliced him in two. I've spent all day repairing his digestive system and reconnecting vessels." Fox closed his eyes, his ears lowered in regret. "He's in a coma now. I don't know when or if he'll wake up even."

There was a longer break in their talk, Fox's expression growing gloomy. "He threw himself in front of me..," he began to ramble. "It's my fault again, isn't it?"

Krystal quickly looked at him, surprised by the comment. "That he got hurt?" Fox didn't reply. "No, Fox. It's not your fault."

He already began stuttering as his eyes watered.

"First Marcus, and now him," he sobbed.

At the mention of Marcus, she too felt the tears once again return to her eyes. Unable to restrain herself, she embraced him tightly, Fox returning the gesture, burying his head in her chest. And even after the tears had subsided, they wouldn't let go for the longest time.

* * *

The last thing he remembered was being forcefully taken off his wolfen, the Pirates not caring for the damage they did to Wolf's ship in the process. He grunted as feeling returned to him, his body sore from the beating he had received when they dragged him out. The dim, blue light that had illuminated the room had suddenly went off as he stirred and examined his surroundings. His hands were bound by a strange form of handcuffs, two rings holding him by the wrists with a round input device in the center, the letters in a language he didn't understand.

The room he was in was covered in a dark, smooth metal with a hard floor. There were no beds, only two benches attached to the walls; the prison doors a sort of force field that gave off a dim yellow light in the darkness. The lupine could barely make out three other figures imprisoned alongside with him.

"Leon? Panther?" he called out, his voice hoarse and exhausted. There were a few grumbles from his cell mates but no direct answers. He noticed that the others were crowded on the other side of the cell, away from him.

"And what are your problems?" he scoffed.

"Shhh!!" a voice urged. "Try not to let them draw any attention to us."

Wolf frowned, though his annoyed look couldn't be seen in the dark. "What do you mean attention? Just where are we?"

The voice hesitated and there was a whimper from one of the other prisoners. "Your that criminal, Wolf, right?" There being no reply, he continued. "So even people like you aren't able to get past these…monsters."

"I wouldn't say our situations are similar," Wolf retorted.

The guy merely laughed. "Whatever you say. In the end, all of us are heading toward the same direction. We either get killed by these guys or you become part of one of their bizarre experiments." The man hesitated before adding, "But hey, it all sounds like a blast either way."

Wolf turned his attention to the other side of the force field. He could make out other cells nearby but beyond about two or three he couldn't see anymore. Everyone in the room had a start as they heard what sounded like a door opening in the distance, panicked gasps and cries growing around them as steady footsteps echoed through the room.

"Not more death," a different voice whimpered. "I've seen enough of it today…"

"Just keep quiet, Reynolds," the original voice comforted. Wolf got the impression that this man was a natural leader of sorts. Before he could even ask, the force field was lowered and behind it were three Pirates, the central wearing a red, transparent form of armor.

"O'Donnell…" he muttered. "You are to come with us." His two escorts moved forward to grab the lupine.

"I don't take orders from someone I've never met," Wolf said defiantly, though he got up as the two pirates got closer to him.

"But we have met already," the red pirates replied emotionlessly. "On the bridge if you do recall."

"Hah. You all look the same," Wolf scowled as he was led out of the cell by gunpoint. Before raising up the field once more, the pirate gave one last look at the other three in the cell, barely making out their silhouettes.

As they made their quick exit, Wolf's acquaintance slowly made his way toward the force field, his husky face dimly illuminated from the light. "Good luck, Wolf," he said with a sigh. "You'll probably need it right now."

"Bill!" a sharp whisper gasped behind him, the husky turning around. "I think we've got it!" There was a soft clink as something metal was dropped onto the floor. "Yes! The cuffs are off!"

Bill rushed up next to his partner, his imprisoned hands feeling his. "That's great Walt! Can you get these off of me and Reynolds?" There was a moment of silence as the husky felt the vibrations of his partner's hands fiddling with his handcuffs, and soon he felt them loosen, his hands finally free. "How'd you figure it out?"

"It was easy," Walt said. "There are only six buttons so I just tried a few combinations to see which sounded right." He had made it sound too much like guesswork. "I did this kind of stuff with puzzles as a kid…"

"H-how did you reach the buttons," Reynolds asked curiously, trying to with his own paws before Walt undid his binds.

"I used my nose."

Bill gave a light chuckle. "Alright, now that we're out of those, what now? How goes that ventilation shaft?"

Reynolds gave a sigh. "It's almost loose, though its been hard removing it with my hands bound. I had to stop fiddling with it when that Wolf guy woke up though." He picked up a small laser from the ground, something he usually carried around when on missions. When Wolf had woken up he had dropped it on surprise. "What about Andrews? He was taken a long while ago. You don't think-"

"He probably didn't make it," Bill confessed as he made his way toward the back with his last two men. "We all saw how Rufus was torn apart by that dragon thing…"

The memory was still fresh in each of their minds. As Reynolds continued cutting through the metal grill they all remained silent, the blue light illuminating the room slightly as the three canines watched apprehensively. The husky could feel the knot in his stomaching growing tighter as the beam slowly made a full revolution around the metal. Quickly, Reynolds caught the grill before it hit the floor to make any noise, the three of them breathing heavily.

"It's a pretty small shaft," Reynolds said, taking a small look at the dimly lit interior. "But I think we can fit through."

"Good," replied Bill. "Let's get out of this place and try to find a way out of here!"

* * *

Wolf had been expecting to be led once more to the main laboratory where he first saw the first swarm of "insects". However, he was somewhat relieved to see that where he was taken wasn't the same place, though he was still uneasy as to what the pirates had in store for him.

The room was once again, dimly lit. The pirates must've had a thing against light. Around him were several terminals outlining the walls as well as large wires running up and down them. It was a really large room and probably large enough it could've been used as a small hanger bay.

The pirates led him to the far end of the room, which could only be the main controls for whatever was in the room. It had two tall pillars before it with a gap in between, though no apparent input device. The machine gave a gentle hum, Wolf feeling the vibrations in his bones.

"So you've brought him," said a voice as the doors far behind them opened and closed as a figure made its way toward them. As he came closer, Wolf was able to see that he wore a dark, green cloak and stood a good six or seven feet tall. He lowered his hood, revealing his jackal-like face, his fur sleek and black. He was easily no where near Lylatian in appearance; his facial structure was fiercer, his eyes small and red. He had no tail like Wolf, and his ears stood up despite their small size.

"Mahat," the red pirate began. "We apologize for what happened," he lowered his head in a sort of humble bow. "Had we taken heed of what F.E. had told us, we would've made sure this one didn't warn the Star Fox crew."

Mahat shifted his gaze from the red pirate and Wolf before looking up into the machine before them. "Isis. Toth." As he said the words, two, blue holographic images appeared above the pillars, their shapes similar to Mahat, though one was female. In the gap between them emerged a large, ethereal face that was human like in appearance.

"We've been expecting you," they replied, their eerie voices echoing simultaneously in the large room. "Dr. Raynord, we can feel that the fates have shifted. We understand you did not heed our warning."

Wolf noticed the red pirate begin to shudder. "My sincerest apologies," he replied rather coolly.

"Your actions have in fact led to what we had predicted. The gray wolf will use its cunning to warn of our invasion. Someone of importance will be lost but quickly replaced." The two on top of the pillar had their gazes placed upon the pirate.

"It is true that we had lost Alpha," Mahat added, "yet the arrival of Aeyr is of greater value to us now. Which brings up my question. Why was I not notified of his involvement."

The holograms paused, as if thinking. "By Aeyr you are referring to the failed experiment by Hierarch Hathor? The son of Nathanial and Miyako Wulff?"

"Of course."

Another pause. This time, Isis spoke on her own. "Even with our combined minds, we did not foresee his involvement in this system."

"It is possible the human's abilities have grown exponentially since his encounter with Geb and Nyut that he may hide his fate from us," added Toth.

"Is he responsible for their deaths?" Mahat asked, his tone still flat.

"That is incorrect," they both replied together. "Our records show that Samus Aran was the one who murdered them before Geb could fully utilize Aeyr's abilities." Raynord grunted in disgust at the mention of Samus' name.

"The fool also merged his already modified Aeon suit with the Chozo technology he hacked from the female human," said Toth. "Unless Aeyr is neutralized once more, he may become a problem. Holding him in containment is preferred so that hunting him down can be avoided."

"This Aeyr," Raynord interrupted. "I can assume that he is that federation soldier I encountered when abducting the Cornerian Councilor."

"That is correct," Mahat answered. "Do not worry Raynord. Regardless of loosing Alpha, within three months the other two frigates will have completed the replica worm holes and arrive here. By then, Beta and Gamma will replace his position."

"More dragons, huh?"

They all looked at Wolf, almost forgetting that he was still around. "This is the cunning gray wolf." Isis remarked, a bit of awe in her voice.

"I'm flattered," he replied curtly. "It's not often I get praised by a woman."

"His face and body will be useful for us in garnering support from the other mercenaries and criminals in this sector," she said, disregarding his comment.

"Does the wolf willingly comply to accept the responsibility as the new second in command of our forces," asked Toth.

The lupine had his mouth open, completely shocked at the position he was being offered. He couldn't help but slowly laugh. "You want ME to lead your armies? You people must obviously be out of your minds. First you abduct me and my team and then imprison me. Now you want to promote me to some sort of leader?! You can forget it!"

"That was the exact answer we had been expecting," both Isis and Toth said together, resuming their eerie speech. "Mahat, use this as an opporotunity to expand your flexibility."

The next thing that happened was the jackal placed his large hand over Wolf's face, blocking his eyes. "Just what the hell do you think your doing?! Get your grubby paws off of - AAAHH!!" There was a blinding indigo light flashing before his eyes and an explosive pain erupted in his head. Things began growing darker, Wolf loosing hold of his consciousness as his surroundings quickly faded into nothing.

Mahat had completely disappeared. Raynord who stood next to the lupine and took a few steps back. As Wolf opened his eyes, the pirate noticed that his eye color had changed from its natural blue to the red that was typical of The Occult. "Mahat?" he asked meekly.

"Raynord," said Wolf, his voice calm. "Just how are the metroids doing?"

The pirate gulped as he chose his words. "Progress is slow. The metroids are hungry. They are not receiving enough nourishment with our limited supply of Cornerians."

"Are the number of metroids we have adequate for the mission?"

"Y-yes."

"Then everything is set. Have your team begin loading them for transport. I shall use Wolf's appearance to raise support for our cause among the armies that Wallace had chosen." He gave the pirate a strong look. "Inform him of the change of command as well as to ready his men for the next wave against the Cornerian fleet. The frigate will soon be entering the fray."

"Yes sir. I shall take my leave now." Raynord hurried his way out the door, not wishing to be around should they change their minds about not punishing him.

"Mahat," began Toth, "an issue has arisien."

"Three of the prisoners have escaped," said Isis. "Cell block A4E778. Data matches them with the remaining Cornerian officers we had imprisoned."

Mahat grunted. "Where are they now?"

"The E-74 ventilation shaft. Their direction leads them towards the labs as well as the metroid encasement pods," said Toth.

"Very well. I'll take a few pirates with me and handle them myself." He turned and began to leave as the two occult members chimed together with one last warning, their voices being said through the central face.

"When time becomes muddled in a murky lake, only then will Erar, the god of liberty, be revealed."

* * *

"Where are we now, Walt," asked Bill as his canine comrade looked through the grill of the nearest air vent. The three of them had been crawling for a good ten minutes, getting no where in particular.

"It looks like some sort of small lab," Walt replied. "There's a computer and a few terminals but nothing else. It's empty."

"You think we can find a map of some sorts with that computer," complained Reynolds, taking the rear of the three of them. There was a moment's hesitation as the others considered the thought.

"Well it is worth a try," Walt shrugged. "Pass me that laser of yours." Reynolds shuffled through his pockets, passing it up to Bill, then to Walt. "Thanks. Hopefully we can get through without getting noticed."

Within a few moments, the three of them had climbed down onto the room below, Reynolds quickly making his way to the computer, giving it confused stares as he randomly pressed buttons. Bill stood by the door, unsure if he could hear anything from the outside, but felt safer trying to keep occupied as Walt fiddled with the other terminals in the room.

"It's no use. I can't understand this language at all!" Reynolds said, defeated. "All entires just look like some sort of log."

Bill looked at him for a moment. "You sure it's a log?"

The canine fidgeted a bit. "Not really. But the formats look similar to how we log information. Why do you ask?"

The husky made his way toward the computer. "If we can somehow get a copy, maybe we can get it translated once we make it back to Corneria. It might be useful."

"That's if we get back," Reynolds said under his breath, Bill giving him a hard look in response.

Behind them, a light erupted from one of the terminals, Walt jumping back in surprise as a holographic blueprint of the whole frigate appeared before them. He quickly had a smile on his face as his comrades moved closer to get a better view.

"Nice, Walt!" praised Bill. "Can you guess where we are?"

Walt touched the hologram, it instantly zooming in onto their current location. "Wow. I'd guess this is where we are."

"Right," replied Bill in a soft chuckle. The map slowly began to rotate, revealing several paths leading to other areas of the frigate. "Our best bet would be to try and find our way back to the hanger bay and steal a ship." At the mention of the hanger bay, the projection flickered and zoomed out, outlining another path for them in red.

"It seems to be voice activated," explained Walt. "I wonder if we can download this data on a disk to take it along with us." Another action occurred, the map disappearing and a data disk ejecting from the terminal. Taking it, the hologram reappeared above the small disk, much smaller than its original size.

"Excellent! Maybe with this we can also copy some of those recent log entries," said Bill, taking the disk from Walt and inserting it into the nearest slot on the computer. He didn't know what exactly he was doing, so he merely said out loud, "Save recent entries." There was a quiet hum as the computer monitor changed into a sort of loading display, slowly filling.

The three refrained from conversation as they watched the screen, Reynolds beginning to fidget uneasily near the door. Each of them were breathing heavily among the silence, sharing apprehensive stares at one another. When the bar had filled up, there was a small beep as the disk ejected itself, Bill quickly grabbing it and asked for the map and directions.

"So what do we do now? Those directions are through the corridors, not the ventilation shaft." Reynolds let out a soft whimper.

Bill sighed, knowing himself that he didn't like the answer. "We're gonna have to take that route." He took hold of his blaster that was resting by his waist. "Just keep quiet and maybe we'll be fine."

"If they're so confident to allow us to keep our blasters even when imprisoned, we really should worry," Walt nervously added. Bill tried to not let the comment deter him.

The doors suddenly opened behind them, their surprised looks met by Wolf's emotionless expression.

"W-Wolf," gasped Reynolds. "Gosh, you gave us a fright! Just how did you get –" before he could finish, the canine's head erupted in a bloody spray, the back of his head revealing an exit hole from a blaster shot.

As the body fell limply onto the floor, both Walt and Bill raised their blasters toward the lupine who still had the emotionless look on his face, his eyes glowing red. "What the fuck you do that for, Wolf!?" demanded Bill as he slowly inched closer to the door. Walt gave a nervous look at his captain, following his lead.

"I see that we have met then," said Wolf, moving the blaster in his hand toward Bill, his only good eye giving him a blank glare. "It's unfortunate that I must keep this conversation short. Anything that can become a hindrance to our plans must be removed immediately."

Bill quickly ducked as he pounced into Wolf, knocking him back to the far end of the hallway he stood in. To his left were three pirates, quickly recomposing themselves as they raised their blasters. Walt rushed out of the previous room, shifting his body as he fired at them. Bill gave the lupine a quick kick as he got up and both he and Walt quickly ran in the other direction.

"What the hell is going on?" the canine gasped.

"I don't know," replied the husky. "Something was wrong with Wolf."

"No shit. He killed Reynolds!"

"That's not what I meant!" Ahead of them was a split in the corridor. "I'll explain later," he said as he took out the disk from his pocket, the map directing them to the right.

When the arrived at the door at the end of the corridor they were met with more of the pirates. The two of them used the door's frame for cover as they began to fire. Their first volley of shots claimed one of the three pirates on the other side, the remaining two trying to rush their way toward the canines. When one of their heads appeared through the doorway both Bill and Walt used the butts of their blasters to knock him out.

The last pirate, realizing that he was alone against the two, made a run for it. Walt gave Bill a look before they both nodded and ran in the same direction, Bill referring to the disk once more for directions. He could see that they were edging closer to one of the larger rooms of the frigate and he silently prayed that it was the hanger bay.

Yet as they passed through the final large doors before them, they couldn't help but stop in their tracks, completely dumbfounded at the scene before them. Many pirates glared at them, apparently surprised from their sudden entrance. The vast room was pretty much littered with them, along with tall tubes, each containing an angry swarm of what looked like jellyfish with huge pincers. The outer walls were lined with what appeared to be some form of small shuttle. Bill assumed that they were escape pods.

The door behind them once again opened, Wolf along with two armed pirates making their entrance. He looked around and realized that the worker pirates were still bothered. "All of you! Get out. Now!" It was the first time his voice had any hint of emotion.

Without delay, most of the pirates had either made their way to the nearest exits, some even hiding in the shadows, curious about the events that were to transpire. Wolf waited a good minute or two in the silence, his two guards staying by his side, their guns aimed at the two canines in front of them.

"Well, now what," whispered Walt, gritting his teeth.

Bill only lightly shook his head. "It really looks like the end of the line for both of us, doesn't it?" He eyed the two pirates, only armed with a blaster while Wolf seemed to have lost his weapon somewhere, possibly hidden. Bill looked at his partner, feeling regret well up inside him. "I'm sorry, Walt."

"Heh, it's not your fault, Bill," he replied, realizing their situation was grim as well. "But if we're gonna go like this…"

"We might as well go down fighting!" They both fired together, knocking out the two pirates first, the shots bouncing away from Wolf by some sort of force field. Upon seeing this they both made a quick run through the room to hide behind the base of one of the glass pillars that held the angry swarms. Walt peered over the side as Bill looked around, seeing that one of the escape pods was open. "Over there," he nudged Walt. "I think if we make a break for it we can hop on and jettison off."

"Sounds like a plan, but I didn't see Wolf. Don't know how he could block our shots." He peered over again, still not seeing anything. "You go on ahead. I'll cover for you."

Bill nodded and quickly ran to the next pillar for cover. He looked back at Walt, who was keeping a watch toward the opposite end of the room and made a run for the next. Before he made it there was an explosion behind him, the force knocking him off his feet. He quickly looked back and saw that Walt too had been blown from his position, the tube they had used for cover shattered and the a swarm slowly hovering over him. Bill called out his name, his comrade giving him a quick terrified look.

One of the creatures quickly latched onto Walt's torso, the canine uttering a surprised cry as the other six quickly followed suit. Bill aimed his blaster and tried to shoot them off but it was of no use. "Bill…," he struggled to say. "Just go…leave me…go!"

Bill hesitated, unable to pull his eyes away as he saw his friend being slowly eaten. He closed his eyes and shuddered as he turned around to make his final run. As he neared the pod opening he suddenly was thrust in by an unseen force and slammed into the wall, the door quickly closing behind him. It was oddly cold inside, and he shuddered in his light clothing. Collecting himself, the husky turned around and looked out the pod door's window to see the face of Wolf.

The lupine pressed a button near the door. "Your not the smartest Cornerian out there, aren't you," his voice echoed through a speaker inside the pod. "Did you not even consider fully scoping out your surroundings before rushing in here?"

Bill felt his heart sink and quickly looked behind him and at the other occupants of the pod. There were eight tubes in the room, four on the left and right walls. Inside each was one of the creatures like those that were feasting on Walt. His expression changed to that of terror, Wolf's laugh echoing through the speakers.

"Don't worry. You wanted to return home so bad so take this as a gift from us to your people. By the time you do make it home, the metroids will thaw, and you'll be there to be their first meal on the planet." He laughed once more before teleporting away.

Bill turned back to the door, unable to open it from the inside. He cried out, though no one could hear him. The only thing that he could see from the other side before the glass fogged up was Walt's body slowly turn into dust.

_**

* * *

Next Episode: Security Breach

* * *

  
**_

Falco, Slippy and Katt manage to raise morale up in space and even begin to turn tides in their favor. Yet, as the Pirate frigate joins the fray, panic arises though the fleet as it begins shooting several strange missiles toward the planet.

_Notes: Actually surprised that I found time to work on this chapter. A lot of people were introduced in this one, even! I felt that it was time to introduce who the "real" villains in this story were with The Occult finally being somewhat introduced. Also, about Bill. I've heard mixed things about his appearance. Thanks for those who messaged me. I'm actually happier with him being a husky. And as this story has already made its way nearing a tenth chapter, I've come to realize just how long this story may become! I'll be amazed if this gets done sometime during summer break._

_This chapter also reveals a lot of the "sub story" that I will be working on later involving Samus and Lyle/Aeyr in regards to the "Fourth Mission". Comments and Constructive criticism would be nice. Been feeling like I need some advice with certain parts in the story X.x_

**xXxXx Scans of Lylat! xXxXx**

**Lylat Metroid:** First seen in Episode 5 when Wallace unsuccessfully tries to convince Wolf to join his cause. These metroids are actually a mutation from the original SR388 versions. The originals wiped out thanks to Samus, The Occult had to use their knowledge and powers to aid the pirates with this new strain. They contain the same abilities as their cousins in siphoning an invisible life force from their victims but are born with smaller teeth around their mouthes and often use their pincers to stab into their prey rather than hold on. In cold environments they become docile.

**Dr. Raynord (Pirate): **Head of the Pirate's science team on board the Pirate Frigate and in charge of keeping an eye on the experiments that go on. He wore the guise of an Ambassador before abducting Councilor Lane from Corneria. As long as his experiments breed a favorable success rating, he's willing to take any chances regardless of the health of others involved.

**Pirate Trooper**: The regular pirates on board the frigate, equipped only with a standard blaster. They are easy to dispatch, sharing the same weaknesses of all biological creatures. Many are busy with on ship duty, such as loading, arming weapons and manning cannons or fighters.

**Aeyr:** Full name is Lyle Aeyr Wulff, though in his suit he prefers to go by this alias. Not much is known about his personal history other than that he is a bounty hunter from a distant galaxy. He is gifted with telepathic abilities as well as a powerful Aeon/Chozo hybrid battle suit. The suit itself uses only standard functions and modifications, such as a super on board computer, environmental protection level 1, grapple beam, space thrusters, telekinetic fire, charged telekinetic blasts as well as concussive shots equivalent to missiles. He has a connection with The Occult.


	11. 10: Security Breach

Star Fox: Universe

Episode: 10

Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

**

* * *

Security Breach

* * *

**

"This is Falco Lombardi of Star Fox," he said over an open frequency as he, Slippy and Katt directed their fighters towards the chaotic struggle before them. Laser fire was everywhere, the streaks zooming in many directions as a myriad of fighters were engaged in a fierce battle. Falco could see that only five of their usual capital ships were present for the battle, the opposing side holding with seven. The design of their ships were similar to the old Venom star ships he and the others had encountered many times before.

"Star Fox?" asked a curious voice over the communication channels, a stout bull dog appearing on the avian's screen. "We're so glad you guys made it here! These guys have been putting up so much of a fight we've pretty much been stuck in a stalemate here."

"Yeah, we're gonna clean up these jerks," he replied. "Can you give us the low down on how things have been going?"

The canine seemed a bit taken aback by Falco's casual speech. "At the moment, we've been engaged with seven starships of Venom design. Our database identifies them as working for the Outlaw Syndicate led by the wanted criminal Wallace Fredericks. However, more ships keep appearing from hyperspace to aid him. We're suspecting that other criminal families are joining their cause since the Pirates had begun the assault."

"About those Pirates, have there been any other signs of them?"

"Well, as of late, not much have been seen of them. Occasionally about four or five of those transporter ships of theirs will show up and try to make it to the planet. Their shielding is incredible, and usually we're only able to take down only one before they reach the atmosphere."

"Heh, lucky for them. Alright, we'll see how much damage we can do." He closed communications with the bull dog and opened one between both Slippy and Katt. The toad kept an apprehensive expression on his face while Katt's remained fierce and determined. "Don't worry Katt. I'm sure we'll find a way to help your friend," he said trying to reassure her.

The feline shook her head. "I should've been protecting her better. I should've made sure she didn't participate in the plan…ugh!" The sound of her fist hitting her controls was heard over the network.

"Katt, it'll be alright. We'll make sure that these Pirates pay! But right now we need to focus on our mission at hand. These guys need us to help them, so we need to be doing our best and not let these kinds of things get to us." Even Falco was impressed with his little speech he let out a small grin as Slippy and Katt couldn't believe the words had came from his mouth.

"So you become a temporary leader and you suddenly become great at speeches," she muttered.

"Hey, I was only doin' it so that-" he saw Katt shaking her head while donning a wry smile.

"I know Falco, I'm only teasing."

"Guys," Slippy began, interrupting their moment, "My scanners indicate there are about one hundred fighters per capital ship on the enemy side. So we have an estimated seven hundred to fend off alongside the Cornerian troops.

"Thanks, Slip," replied Falco, his attention back to the matter at hand. "Alright everyone, you know what to do!" He boosted his arwing toward the mesh of fighters, the other two following his lead. "Yo, Slip. Make sure that ROB keeps the Great Fox away from the main battle. We don't need that thing getting beat up again."

"Already done, Falco. ROB has already set up a perimeter around the Great Fox so in case any enemies get close they'll be shot down immediately."

"Alright then. Now let's get to work!"

Their presence was quickly noted as several of Wallace's red and orange fighters changed course and headed toward their direction. As if they had previously rehearsed, Falco and the others quickly broke off into separate directions, barrel rolling to deflect the laser fire directed at them.

The action caused the group of enemy fighters to split, four following Katt, five on Falco and the last three trailing Slippy. Quite easily, Falco did a loop, reversing the position of him and his assaulters, leaving them easy prey for his ships multi lock system. With them all targeted, he charged his lasers and allowed the blast to split into multiple directions, striking down all the fighters in a flare up of light and debris.

Falco smirked as he pulled off his current path as another fighter zoomed by in front of him, cutting dangerously close and soon erupted in a similar fashion; a Cornerian fighter having shot it down.

"Hey, kid, watch what you're doin'!" Falco yelled out, an image of a startled young raccoon signaling apologetically on his screen. In the distance, he was able to see two more Cornerian fighters take out the last two ships after Slippy. He could see a pink fighter a bit away and realized that Katt was already further into the battle, her shots arching in different angles and catching her prey off guard.

"Our troops must not be getting proper training," she mused. "This has been more than easy for us." Her ship barrel rolled and continued to fire, taking down a few more enemies before her. "I'm at kill count 15 now, you keeping up bird boy?"

"Oh is this a challenge, pussy cat," he joked back, targeting more ships as he charged his lasers. He banked his arwing to the right as he let go of the trigger, claiming his marks again and letting out a whoop.

"Star Fox," the same pull dog reappeared on their screens. "Our central most capital ship will begin to fire its main cannons. Be wary of the area of fire. Over."

The Cornerian fighters quickly moved away as a large, triangular ship began to push slowly forward, its guns blasting forth a myriad of fire, taking down many of the smaller fighters and damaging the shields of its targeted star ship in the distance. Cheers could be heard through the com links as everyone began to push toward the line of Venom ships, their confidence boosted.

The enemy ships retaliated by returning fire, Falco, Katt, as well as several bold allies rushing on in while avoiding them, taking down many of Wallace's men. Someone yelled out a warning as a beam rushed toward them, the slow fighters meeting their fates as the others swerved out of the way as quickly as they could.

"Guys! Pull back fast!" shouted Slippy. "My scanners are picking up something weird behind those star ships, and its moving toward us pretty quickly!" As he said it, out of no where emerged the Pirate frigate, its massive size dwarfing all the star ships before it and many of the allied fighters quickly turned back around towards their respected star ships in fright.

"So they decided to finally show up," muttered Katt, she and the other two following suit with the others, figuring it best to stay as a group.

They didn't see where the blast came from, yet immediately strong shots were aimed at the leading Cornerian star ship, ripping through its shields as if they didn't exist and breaching its sturdy hull. They could only watch in horror as it slowly erupted into more flames, debris slowly littering the battlefield.

"I knew this was way too easy…," Falco swore under his breath. "Slip, can you give us some info on the Pirate ship?"

"I'm on it," he replied. "All I've got at the moment though is that that weapon they just used has a cooling time of about thirty minutes. The further the shot goes the weaker it becomes until it disappears into nothing. Our star ship just got way too close."

"So they want to keep us at a distance..." For the first time in battle, Falco was beginning to worry about the situation. With the Pirates now defending Wallace's ships, it would be near impossible to get too close to do any real damage, not to mention that they were now down to four ships against eight.

"Hold on a sec, they're doing something else now!" The screen showed that the toad was still fiddling with his scanner. Occupied, he didn't notice the enemy fighters quickly speeding up toward him. Before they got too close, however, Katt fired from her position and took care of them, Slippy looking back as the light illuminated his ship from behind. "Thanks Katt. Alright, the Pirate ship has-"

"Star Fox!" The bull dog again, cutting off Slippy's voice. "We've detected a missile has been launched and is heading toward the planet. It's guarded by four Pirate ships. They're shelling themselves to maximize their defenses but they won't be able to fight back in return."

"I was just about to say that," the Toad muttered.

"Well, do not forget what we told you earlier, their shielding is incredible. It'll be hard to take them down. Do not worry about us out here for now. Do your best and take down that missile!"

"Don't have to tell us twice," said Katt, the others boosting forward, the green pirate ships unmistakable compared to the other fighters. They were rushing toward them at an alarming rate that, before they knew it, they were trailing the four ships and missile, Corneria quickly growing larger ahead of them.

Katt didn't hesitate to start firing, her anger and regret growing as she remembered how easily she was knocked out as Lane was quickly taken away. The sight of her shots doing nothing against the shields increased her frustration.

"Shield is analyzed," announced Slippy. "I've never seen readings this high before! The four of them are combining their shields to protect that missile. But what's strange is that I'm getting life readings from inside it."

"What kind of readings?" asked Falco, joining Katt and firing on the same of the four ships.

"Eight don't match anything I've on my database, but the ninth is canine."

"Ugh, so what do we do against these things?" Katt complained. "We're getting too close to the atmosphere; we don't have enough time to just wait."

"Concentrated fire can weaken the shields enough to create a small opening, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to take them all down fast enough before it closes up," Slippy replied meekly. "However, if we get the shields down enough and all target the missile, then that should take care of it. I don't get why they'd place life forms in a missile though. Falco what should we do?"

It was reasons like this that Falco despised being in positions of leadership. There wasn't any knowing what effects the missile would have once it landed on Corneria, yet there still was that canine imprisoned inside. "Take it out," he decided. "We can't forsake the populace for just one."

There were shots fired behind them, Slippy's ship taking a hit and knocked out of the way, the toad screaming as his arwing spun out of position. he quickly gathered his wits as he regained control and saw that they were being pursued by three strange looking ships. Falco saw them appear on his monitor and recognized them from when Wolf attacked them.

"I see the bird has taken lead. Where's your great Fox McCloud?"

Falco grunted as he recognized Leon's voice. "Don't tell me, you two are working for the Pirates too?" He and Katt continued to fire, hoping that they could still do enough damage without Slippy.

"It's a matter of circumstance," replied Panther. "If things were our way we wouldn't even be here."

"That is enough," the emotionless voice of Wolf said. "You two were told to fight not converse." And directed to Falco, "You've had a good run, Cornerian, but your luck ends here."

Falco gave the image of Wolf a weird glance, knowing that the lupine would never have spoken in such a way. The impact from the fire behind him and Katt forced him to grab a tighter hold onto his controls, his shields rapidly loosing power.

"Shit! Sorry, Falco! I can't hold this up!" Katt pulled off, looping around to avoid any more fire.

"Dammit!" the avian cried, watching helplessly as the missile grew closer to the atmosphere before pulling away to rejoin Katt and Slippy.

Fox didn't know what to make of Lyle's appearance as he stood over him. The person he was viewing looked much more fragile than he did within his armor. He did see a relation between him and the ape-race that lived among them, despite the lack of fur, the only exception being his eyebrows and black hair on his forehead. He was also younger than Fox had been expecting; at most he could be twenty. The vulpine found it odd that they kept what looked like a headset scanner on his left ear as he rested on the hospital bed.

Krystal walked into the room, taking notice that Fox was eyeing the item. "I thought it best to leave it on," she said, Fox giving a slight jump as he didn't hear her enter. "When I took it off his brainwaves went crazy."

"Hmm," he replied, his tail twitching as he thought.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, not really." He turned to face her, seeing her solemn expression she always wore whenever they were together. "He's quite different, isn't he?" He returned his gaze back at the sleeping human.

"Yes. Though besides appearance, he's very similar to us. Organ structure, systems, they're almost identical." She heard Fox mumble once more; he wasn't all that interested her medical knowledge. "In any case, I prefer his looks over those Aranians."

"Pirates," Fox corrected.

Behind them were the sounds of many footsteps, both he and Krystal turned around to see a nurse, Peppy, as well as two others. Their faces were recognizable though Fox couldn't figure out their names.

"It's a real honor, Mr. McCloud," said the nurse nervously as she wore a big smile.

"That will be all, thank you," said one of the men, a Tiger who's age was showing in his graying stripes. Next to him was a female collie, whojust smiled and nodded in agreement. The nurse realized she was being dismissed and quickly made an exit.

"I see you are better," Peppy said, his voice giving away his exhaustion. "Fox, this is Councilor Karen Cooper," he gestured toward the collie, "and this is Judge Alexander Krause," gesturing finally to the old Tiger.

"I believe this is the first time we've met," said Cooper, her tone rather bubbly. "I must say you are better looking than you seem on TV." Krystal gave her a look.

"That's not why we're here, Karen," Krause admonished. He had a strong, authoritative tone to him. "Well Mr. McCloud, I suppose you are wondering just what two government officials are doing here."

"It crossed my mind," he confessed.

"Well, there are a few things that have come up," Peppy began, however the tiger placed up a hand to tell him to stop.

"Is that the guy who killed that dragon?" Cooper asked, on her toes to get a better look behind Fox and Krystal. They moved aside so she could get a better look at Lyle. "Ah, weird fellow isn't he?"

"From our reports, he has confessed to bringing up that barrier in our communication network," Krause said displeased. "Despite all the good will he may have thought he was doing, it has done nothing more than weaken us as we try to send distress signals. Thanks to Ms. Monroe, we were able to send out a few just recently, but with how the battle is going in space, it may be too late. Judge Ricks and even the Chancellor are not happy about it."

Fox eyed him, wondering where he was getting at. "It sounds as if you wish to imprison him for something."

"Judge Ricks agrees on that idea," he confessed. "However with the current situation and how he did help out in that little spat at the Memorial of Heroes, we've managed to keep that option out with majority vote."

"I wouldn't call what we did a little spat," Fox said hotly, remembering how he did loose an arwing in the fight. "Is there something else? I'm sure meeting a Judge means you have more to tell me than things about Aeyr."

Cooper coughed, signaling it was her turn to speak. "Pepper at the moment is speaking with Ricks and-"

"Address them correctly, Karen. They are your superiors," the tiger admonished once more.

"Right sir…Judge Ricks and Chancellor Redgis. To be quite frank, our army wasn't even ready for this kind of attack. With the peace that came after the Anglar War, our military had spread out over the system to monitor things better. However, the price was that we spread our home defenses a bit too thin."

"What she's getting at," sighed Krause," is that we're debating the idea of a full scale evacuation of the planet."

Both vulpines looked at him in disbelief.

"It's only under debate at the moment. As of yet, we are only waiting for troops from Katina and local asteroid bases to arrive and assist us, though if they don't' arrive anytime soon, we may have no choice but to abandon Corneria."

"Are things in space really going that badly?" Fox asked bewildered. He had never even heard of Corneria surrendering in such a short time or effort.

It was finally Peppy's turn to speak up. "As of yet, yes. Things are going quite terribly up there. We attempted to strengthen our assault against seven capital ships belonging to a wanted criminal named Wallace Fredericks. However, as one of our ships got close enough to fight them off, the Pirates mother ship appeared out of no where and immediately shot it down with no effort. Last we've heard before coming here was that four Pirate Loaders had made planet fall as well as some sort of missile containing life forms within it. We've identified it to be more of a loading pod. We cannot identify the life forms within it as of yet, however one of them is canine. It's possibly a form of bio weapon and the canine is expected to be food."

He recognized Fox's expression of thinking, the vulpine's tail twitching from left to right.

"Fox, we want you and a few men to investigate and possibly take down whatever this thing is. Unfortunately, the pod had crash landed onto a residential area about four miles away from where we are now. We're doing our best to clear off civilians from the area."

Fox folded his arms and looked down to the ground, his tail still twitching as everyone's attention remained on him, Krystal giving him worried looks. "I have a request before I go."

"Anything, Fox."

"Peppy, I want you and Krystal to take Aeyr up to the Great Fox and stay there. I want to know you all are someplace safe."

"Wait, Fox," Krystal began, but he wouldn't let her finish.

"Also, before you go, I believe Aeyr said his ship's computer was still intact. It should be in Star Fox HQ among his things in Marcus' room. We may need it much later." He paused for a moment. "Just where would everyone be going if we did evacuate?"

"Everyone would be spread out among Fortuna, Katina, Venom as well as other bases along the asteroid field," answered Cooper. "I'll be the one making the speeches to the masses about the situation shall that time come anyway. Councilors job after all."

Fox nodded slowly as Peppy sighed. "Alright then. Krystal, I expect we should be making our way soon. I'll let you arrange a way to get Lyle transferred and meet you outside."

"Good luck, Mr. McCloud," Krause said. "We hope for the best." With that, the three of them left, leaving only Krystal and Fox alone next to Lyle's comatose body.

"Fox, why are you making me go?" Krystal asked curiously. "You know as a doctor I'm better needed here."

"Krys," he began, taking hold of both her hands as he spoke. Krystal was shocked from the sudden gesture of affection she blushed. Fox hadn't treated her in such a way in a long time. "I…I don't want to loose anyone else who is important to me. I know I've treated you the worst since Marcus died. I'm sorry. But please…go…for me."

She removed her hands and embraced him, resting her head in his chest as he returned the gesture. "Fox…I…I," she couldn't find the right words to say. Hesitantly, she replied, "I need to get Lyle moved. Please…do be careful out there."

He released his hold on her and began to walk out. But before he completely vanished from her view, he turned back and comforted her, "You know I will."

_**

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Next Episode: A Matter of Days

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**_

Fox leads Peppy's men toward the Pirate Pod and discovers something for worse than he could have imagined.

_Notes: This chapter was originally going to be much longer than is currently is, however I started to notice that in my notes I had included some things in this one that I was expecting to put on the next. Seeing as how things worked out the way they are now, I decided to throw in the remaining bits onto the next chapter, otherwise Chapter 11 would have been extremely short. This chapter will probably get edited a bit more later as it sort of has a sloppy feel to it._

**XxXxX Scans of Lylat XxXxX**

**Cornerian Government Leaders:** I actually thank Snake of the Rose for bringing up that I had mistaken Chancellor and Councilor. So thus, this form of government and characters were born. Corneria is run by a five person head in this universe. They consist of a Chancellor, two Judges and two Councilors. The Chancellor is the head of the five of them. His decision in bills and proposals pretty much make the government turn. The Judges are the enforcers of the law, and are responsible for managing major cases and trials. They usually are old military geniuses and are credited with great deeds. Councilors generally are women and are the voices to the people. They are responsible for community work as well as speaking out in times of crisis to garner support for the others. They usually vote on matters together, their odd number assuring that there is no draws.

**The Occult:** The main antagonists for this story as well as the soon to be "Fourth Mission" story. They are a race of tall, jackal like creatures. Despite their similar-sounding appearances to Lylatians, they are beyond that, having smaller, red eyes and shorter pointy ears. Their bodies are heavily built and is covered by their silky, short black fur. Leaders of the occult are given the names of Egyptian Gods; they resemble Anubis. Occult members are gifted with incredible telepathic abilities such as shielding, absolute mind control and precognition.

**Team Husky: **Though I never named this team in the story, it consists of the five man group that was sent to investigate the open-air message which led them to the Pirate Frigate. Team consisted of the leader, Bill Grey, Reynolds, Andrews, Walt, and Rufus, and all being canines. Rufus was killed by Alpha upon entering the Frigate, Reynolds by a possessed Wolf and both Walt and Andrews to metroids.


	12. 11: A Matter of Days

Star Fox: Universe

Episode: 11

Season 1 : 闇の中で In the Dark

Star Fox and Characters are Copyright to Nintendo as well as the themes related to them.

**

* * *

A Matter of Days

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**

_Note: This chapter marks the end of "season 1" of Universe. I thank everyone who has read these first, trying eleven chapters and hope you have enjoyed them. Episode 12 will mark a few changes in how this story is don__e and __ more than likely the chapters will become much longer since I feel I haven't yet established the amount of detail I wanted with "season 1". Again, thanks for reading; comments and constructive criticism are welcome._

The only light in the large, circular room came from the holographic projector located in the center. Rows and rows of empty chairs laid witness to a display of fighters and capital ships rushing helter-skelter toward their enemies, laser fire zooming to and fro across the floating stage.

On the far corner of the display one of the larger Cornerian ships began to descend from its position as explosions from within spewed out more debris on the already littered battlefield. Ships of foreign design escaped from the fires of that destroyer along with several of the orange and red ships belonging to Wallace's crew.

A sigh escaped one of the three figures who stood before the projector as they continued to watch in anxious silence. The tallest of them was a rather solidly built deer-man, whose antlers displayed his full majesty and power; quite fitting for the man who was Chancellor of Corneria. Despite his rather young age of 35, the stresses placed upon him were gradually showing in his graying fur and tired eyes.

His two companions were none other than General Pepper himself as well as Judge Ricks, a wise, snow colored owl that was known for his disagreeable nature. He was one of the oldest members still working for the government and the oldest of the five councils so it was only natural that he'd be the most conservative.

"It's growing horribly apparent how right I was in opposing splitting up our fleet," Ricks said with a hint of arrogance, his words echoing within the large room.

Redgis closed his eyes, not too pleased with how often Ricks enjoyed pointing out obvious facts whenever it involved his rejected ideas. The Judge was one of two to be against dividing the military over the system, Lane being the second. The councilor was pretty much going to become exactly like him since she was taken under his wing. But thinking about trivial matters like that was to come about later, as he reopened his eyes and took a look at the battle projected above them.

"We've been reduced to three capital ships left," Redgis felt necessary to state the obvious.

"Other than the three government star ships, the planet only has about twenty more ships remaining that could head up there," Pepper added.

"And what about reinforcements? Any idea just how long they can arrive from Katina?"

"Not fast enough," scoffed Ricks. "Our little _friend's_ firewall has made communication utterly difficult we're unsure if they even got our distress signals."

"I assure you that Ms. Monroe did her job and informed our troops," replied Pepper hotly. "As for Lyle's actions, I'm sure what he did was for our best interests, regardless of what the consequences are now."

"Regardless, Pepper?" he asked, amazed. "We're about to loose our planet to one, and I repeat, ONE ship. I don't count those shitty criminal ships because had our military remained stationed here in Corneria as I had insisted before, we would have easily taken care of them. And especially if communication wasn't hindered, we would have rallied up enough troops to retaliate quickly and effectively."

Redgis grunted, knowing that saying anything would further instigate comments from the old hoot. Light entered from the far end of the room as a door opened and two figures walked in. He recognized Councilor Cooper and Judge Krause's figures as they slowly made their approach. "I take it Fox went off to figure out what that 'missile' was then?"

"Yes, the mercenary had agreed with one exception," answered Krause who was rubbing his chin with his hand. "Peppy, that Cerinian fox and that bounty hunter were to be transported to his ship immediately."

"I would've rather the bounty hunter be imprisoned within my own ship." Ricks shook his head.

"You cannot overlook that the guy _did_ take out that dragon that was kidnapping our citizens," said Cooper as she frowned at the Judge. "And not to mention that in his current state imprisoning him wouldn't be recommended to keep his health in check." She was satisfied that the owl couldn't reply.

The projector above them began to flash a series of red lights, all of them looking up at the sudden disturbance. More of the strange missiles were being launched this time, the small fighters swarming around them struggling to break through the heavy shielding that the Pirates unfortunately had.

The deer shook his head, disheartened with what he was about to say. "We have no choice. Our military is spread too thin for us to defend effectively. Pepper, send at most ten of our remaining star ships to aid our remaining three and have the rest set up an area that we can evacuate citizens though. We must leave the planet."

"It appears to be our only option," Krause agreed, nodding grimly. "We'll have a better chance regrouping either in MacBeth or Venom in order to strike back."

"Then I'll prepare an announcement," Cooper added in. "I am a bit worried though…Even with the amount of shuttles we have, you are aware that not everyone will be able to escape. I'm afraid of what will happen to those who remain here."

Ricks shook his head, disgusted. "At the moment we cannot dwell on that matter. I'll take my ship and head toward Fichina and get our bases ready there."

"Then I'll contact Dash in Venom," said Redgis. "I'll explain the situation and hopefully we can set up a force in Ashford. Until then, keep contact with one another weekly. Once we get the fleet at full power we'll return."

They all nodded and made their exits, Ricks muttering under his breath. Redgis realized that Pepper was still following him, the hound still occasionally coughing from his previous sickness.

"You're not your usual self, Redgis," he said. "This past week I've watched you grow so weary and nervous. You can't let everything that Judge Ricks says get to you."

He gave a weary smile. "It's hard to admit that perhaps the senate and I were wrong in what we had decided to do. Not knowing that something like this would happen and spreading our military too thin…I suppose that we were only asking for this to happen someday soon."

"Well, you have to remember, Corneria has had peace for a few years now. Many of us were hoping that this would be the end of the conflict in Lylat, but it seems now that we've garnered attention by species outside of our system." He coughed once more, taking a break in his speech. "I just wonder how much longer we'll have to go on fighting like this."

Redgis sighed as they neared his office door. The halls that were usually guarded with several soldiers were nearly empty as the men were either in space or managing with the conflicts outside. "You were supposed to be retiring soon, last I recall." He gave the hound a careful look. "It looks like your health hasn't fully recovered since the Anglar War either, hasn't it?"

Pepper shrugged. "As long as I'm capable of helping I'll be fine. However once all this is past us, I would like to retire for good, yes. Anyway, I apologize but I have to make my leave now. Before I alert the troops I wish to give Falco a heads up about what is going on now."

"Alright," Redgis replied. "Best of luck to your men, and I'll keep in touch from Venom." Pepper nodded and walked away as the deer entered his office, placing both hands on his head as he tried to contemplate that everything around him was really happening.

"Are you alright, sir?"

Fox yawned and looked over to another vulpine who shared similar coloration to him. "Yes I'm fine," he replied. "Just have had a lot on my mind lately."

He seemed satisfied with the answer and went back to talking amongst the other soldiers in the truck. It was a typical military vehicle, used to transport troops on land-based operations. There were a total of twelve men in the back, Fox being one of them. He could see that most of them were young and more than likely were just fresh recruits who were stuck with duty on their home planet. Their conversation wasn't anything of any interest and Fox went back to staring out the window at the passing homes and trees.

Everything was moving at an incredible pace he didn't know if he would be able to keep up. War breaking out only yesterday…an acquaintance hurt in a battle…Pirates…Krystal …

"…Dragon, right?"

He looked back towards the soldiers, who were all gazing at him. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You were the guy that killed that dragon right?" one of them repeated. "The story has been passing around like wildfire at the academy!" This was followed by murmurs on how great Fox McCloud was and nods of awe.

"No, it wasn't me, really," he said in a slump, his ears lowering. "I only helped." There was an exchange of surprised looks within the truck. Fox chose to just ignore them, and resumed staring out the window and saw that the landscapes were slowing down. The engines were also slowly becoming inaudible of the hovering vehicle until it came to a complete stop, the soldiers exiting the truck and onto the asphalt road. He hesitated but followed their example and made his way out.

There were several police cars surrounding the area, their flashing lights spraying the scene in dancing blue and red. The area was taped off to prevent any civilians from getting anywhere too close, though it probably wasn't necessary with the area evacuated in case the pod happened to explode after all. It was located in the middle of a small street, the asphalt torn and cracked around it, surrounded by neat suburban houses of varying color.

"Mr. McCloud," began a voice, a Great Dane officer approaching him. "I'm the officer currently in charge of this problem." He seemed very pleased with given this sort of authority.

"What's the situation?"

"At the moment, we've been able to evacuate all civilians out of the area. There are reports of life from within the pod, but we didn't want to open it until you had arrived."

"I see." The dane beckoned him to follow as they ducked under the tapes and into the impact area. Fox signaled the other soldiers to surround the area and the troops quickly encircled the pod as the vulpine made his way to the door. He didn't understand why by his gut was telling him something was going to go horribly wrong.

The door itself wasn't too obliged to open so easily, and it took a bit of effort to finally pull it off as a freezing cold chill escaped from the insides. There were no lights inside but the afternoon sunlight being swallowed up by the darkness revealed eight sort of encasements lining the walls, all fogged up to the point he couldn't make out what was inside them. Across from the door was an unconscious husky, who had used some sort of belt to fasten himself to the wall.

As Fox grew closer to the canine, he realized with horror that it was his old friend. "Bill?!"

The husky groaned, probably knocked out from the impact with land, blood running down his forehead. Fox quickly undid his binds and carried him over his shoulders outside as the officers and soldiers around him looked with curiosity. The dane wasn't sure of what to do himself and walked inside the pod to see if he could do anything.

The rear doors to the truck were still open and Fox decided it best to lay his friend down in one of the seats inside. From the looks of it he had been involved in a great deal of fighting already. The lupine realized that it must've been Bill's team that was sent to investigate the strange signal they were later sent to investigate.

"Wha…what…" muttered Bill who was slowly coming to his senses.

"It's alright. Your in Corneria now, buddy," Fox comforted as he adjusted the seat so the husky could lie down.

However, he just bolted back on his feet quickly, Fox holding him as he nearly lost his balance. "C-Corneria?! What? We're on Corneria?!" He slowly looked at Fox as if he was just noticing him. "Fox…where is the escape pod?"

He gave him a strange look. "It's just outside. Why?"

Bill's face was quickly washed over with fear. Outside, there was a sound of breaking glass followed by a screech from a creature that Fox could not picture. It was followed by a scream as well as more glass breaking. Both he and Bill quickly stumbled out of the truck to see that the great dane was crawling out of the pod, three jellyfish-like creatures clinging onto him firmly.

The other nearby soldiers and officers were struck down in horror as the remaining five metroids emerged out of the pod, quickly and brutally stabbing their long pincers into their flesh to feed. The lucky recruits who were too far to reach immediately made a run for it, scattering out in different directions.

Bill grabbed hold of Fox before the vulpine could fire with his blaster. "It won't do any good. These things will turn them to dust, and if we don't get out of here too, we'll be the same."

Fox looked back at the dying men and saw that what Bill said was true. Their colors were quickly fading and the great dane had already began to blow away with the wind. The three metroids that had latched onto him were angrily competing with their siblings for a bit of the other prey that had fallen, their eerie screeches piercing the silent air.

Without a moment's hesitation, Fox shut the rear doors of the truck and took the drivers seat; Bill taking the seat beside him as they both drove away in haste. Looking at the rearview mirror he could see that they were not being followed. In the sky were many fiery objects, making a slow descent onto the planet below.

Everything in the medical bay on board the Great Fox was new to Krystal. The only time she had been on this new version was during a sort of "vacation" in which she insisted that Fox take her and Marcus along on one of his missions. She was fed up with him always leaving to do his job and not spending enough time with the family.

The only light came from a tall lamp on the corner of the room. In the past year Krystal had grown fond of dim light compared to the overbearing brightness the ceiling lights usually cast. Four beds that were evenly spaced were placed in the far end of the room whereas the area closest to the door had walls lined with cabinets stocked full with medical supplies. There was a console on top of the nearest counter, used to send messages throughout the ship as well as activate the medical robots that would hover in the air and perform light tasks when needed.

She had placed Lyle in the farthest bed, nearest the window. He slept peacefully despite the constant beeping of the monitor as well as the battle engaged within viewing distance outside.

A tone rang over the intercom system as Peppy began to speak. "Krystal, once you have finished in the med bay head to the bridge. There's an important message being announced by the government."

The vixen gave Lyle one final look before going through the sliding doors and through the halls of the Great Fox. She could already hear that the broadcast had already started as she entered the bridge. A holographic image of a female collie stood above their projector located in the center of the bridge, wearing a nervous and tired look on her face.

"…and things are not going as well as we had initially anticipated. These Aranian's have unfortunately been revealed to us to be Pirates from a distant part of the universe and are notorious for various crimes. We regretfully admit that this information was revealed to us too late, and even at the loss of beloved Councilor Heather Lane."

"Also, we have been recently informed that these Pirates are launching a form of escape pod onto our planets surface. I urge everyone to not get near any of these as they are more than likely traps and will more than likely injure you. We have sent our national hero, Fox McCloud to investigate a nearby pod and are awaiting further information."

"It is now that the council and I regretfully inform the masses that we are left with no other option than to organize a mass evacuation of the planet. Our local military is struggling with the criminal fleets that have joined forces with the Pirates and have unfortunately been spread too thin within the past few years."

"We will be creating a wall with our remaining fleet so that civilian ships may escape without any harm, though I strongly warn everyone to remain within the designated zones to avoid any unnecessary deaths. Those without their own form of space flight should make their way to the nearest ports and take shelter in the several escape shuttles that the military has established. I regretfully say that space is limited and we'll be accepting people in a first come, first serve basis. We will also be loading these ships beyond normal capacity to fit in enough people we can. Try and stay with your families as these ships will not be going to the same destinations. We will be fleeing to the nearby planets of Fichina, MacBeth and Katina."

"For those who are left on the planet, I cannot offer much consolation," she closed her eyes, distressed. "However, if you can, quickly make your way to any nearby military bases to seek protection within the compounds and soldiers stationed there."

"Once again, I apologize on behalf of the government council. I wish everyone good luck and Godspeed." The transmission slowly faded until nothing remained of the image.

Peppy was rubbing his chin and seated on a chair in front of the ships navigation system. "How interesting," he muttered while slowly shaking his head. "Looks like once again we've come to this, doesn't it?"

Krystal just stood lost in thought. A similar feeling she had before the mission to capture the ambassador was growing stronger in her heart. The voice in her mind winning over her as it convinced her to trust her instincts. "I'm going back down there," she said firmly.

Peppy turned from his chair to face her, seeing her determined look. "You're worried about Fox again, aren't you?" He saw her nod in reply. The hare shook his head, slightly amused. "You know that I can't stop you from going. Take your old arwing in the hangar bay. Fox has been keeping good care of it since you left the team, so I'm sure the Cloud Runner is still in great shape."

She smiled as she too shook her head slightly. "I'm sure I'll have to thank him later then."

"You take care down there," cautioned Peppy as she turned to leave. "Who knows what trouble these Pirates have for us?"

The emergency message had finished over the truck's radio, the two men silently contemplating the seriousness the war had quickly taken. Fox glanced over at his friend who continued to mope around in silence. _Whatever was on his mind is really weighing him down,_ he thought.

"Bill," he saw the husky look at him with distraught eyes. "Can you send a message to Pepper about what happened back there. Our scientist are gonna have to find out a way to counter this bio weapon the pirates have launched here."

"Sure thing," he replied under his breath, pressing a few buttons on the trucks radio and pulling out a small microphone attached to it. "This is Captain Bill Grey of Team Husky. General Pepper, are you there?"

There was a brief moment of static before the general replied. "Bill! My God, boy, it's good to hear from you. Did you find out about that signal?"

The husky hesitated. "Yes, the source was from the Pirate Frigate. They were amassing as many mercenary and criminal families to their cause."

"Ah, that. It's been brought to light with our sour battle up in space. Was your team able to find out anything else?"

"No, unfortunately. However we did get a copy of their recent database information. It's written in their native language and requires translation. If our scientists can figure out what-"

"Ah, don't worry about that for now," Pepper interrupted, his voice seemingly stressed. "Just hold on to that information for now. Where are you at the moment?"

"Corneria, sir. I was forcibly knocked into one of the pirate holding pods by Wolf." Fox gave Bill a surprised look at the mention of his rival while managing to deal with the increasing traffic that panicked citizens were creating.

"O'Donnell is helping the pirates then? I would have expected better from him in recent events," the general said in disappointment.

"It's not just that, sir. When I first met him he was imprisoned with us in a holding cell. Afterward, it seemed like he was an entirely different person. I think the Pirates did something to him. But other than that, these pods carry a strange bio weapon. They travel in swarms and latch onto their victims to feed of them. They eventually turn into dust once the monsters finish feeding."

"Wait, you were in one of these pods?! Is Fox with you?"

Bill handed the microphone to the vulpine who grabbed it with a free hand, the other still on the wheel of the truck. "I'm here, General. Most of the men and officers at the scene were killed while others ran away terrified."

They couldn't see that Pepper had placed a hand to cover his eyes as he sat on his desk, heavy in thought. "Fox, take Bill and his men back to the Great Fox for now and meet up with me in Katina. We'll see what we can do then."

Bill stopped Fox from asking anymore about his men, shaking his head solemnly. "Alright, sir," he replied. "We'll meet you at Katina."

"Fox, a last warning. There are reports that another pod had landed near your HQ. The Pirates had launched another fifty or so onto the planet and we were able to take down five thanks to Falco and the others out in space."

"Thanks, we'll be careful. Fox, out." He glanced ahead of them at how heavy the traffic had become along the floating highway. Without a moment's hesitation, he swerved heavily to the right, through the median and onto the opposing traffic lane. The road wasn't in use, and upon seeing their example, many others began to follow suit, rushing ahead of their friends who were stuck in the stop and go lane. Bill wasn't fazed, used to his friend's reckless fits since their academy days.

Fox took the nearest exit, adjusting the truck to make the sharp turn. It led to a quiet road surrounded thickly by trees. The Star Fox HQ stood in the distance, its dome shaped exterior revealing that something had damaged its roof as it showed a gaping hole. He stopped the car in front of the two glass doors at the entrance, both he and Bill getting out and holding their blasters as the familiar screech the metroids screamed was from within.

"So you have fighting experience against these things?" Fox asked Bill, walking through the sliding glass doors and into the empty base.

"No, not really," Bill admitted. "I only was able to see what they were capable of." The husky followed close behind his friend. "But if they're all together we won't be able to do much against them all."

"One by one then," he mused. "Well it can't be as hard as taking down that dragon, I suppose."

"You killed it?"

"I'll tell you about it on the Great Fox later."

The lights within the building were off, adding more to the tension that both men already felt. Fox, who was accustomed to the place wasn't able to recognize how foreign it had suddenly become. On the corner of the nearest wall was an elevator. The vulpine pressed the up button a few times with no response as Bill kept an eye out for anything among the hallways.

"We'll have to take the stairs. Looks like power got knocked out."

"How far are the stairs?" Bill asked, still watching over the hall.

"The last door on the left," Fox replied, pointing behind them.

Their hurried footsteps on the tile flooring echoed throughout the corridor. As they got closer to the stairway, the sliding doors opened by them self as a metroid hovered lazily out. Both Fox and Bill quickly halted and raised their weapons. The metroid screeched, alerted by the life near it and hungrily twitched its two large pincers.

They both quickly began firing as it began to hover closer to them, the shots hitting the metroids jelly like body with little to no effect. It must've known an opportunity had been given to it, as the metroid quickly directed its teeth toward Fox and quickly lunged toward him. The vulpine quickly jumped aside as it flew past him, giving off a disappointed screech.

"Let's just get out of here!" Fox commanded and both he and Bill made it past the sliding door and up the stairs, ignoring the fact that the doors below them had opened once again as the metroid followed them.

On the third floor, they found themselves in another long hallway and ran past the other doors lining the walls and past the double glass doors of the hanger bay. Fox let out a disgusted howl as the current state of the room became clear. Both he and Bill slowly and cautiously made an approach to the last arwing in the area, crushed underneath the pirate encasement pod. There was something behind that Fox couldn't make out.

The metroid that had been chasing them broke through the glass doors behind them, screeching as it lunged toward Bill. Before it latched onto him with its sharp pincers it was struck down by a cold blast, immediately freezing it. Bill caught the frozen ball and dropped it in surprised disgust.

"I knew you'd come around," said Krystal's voice, as she emerged from the shadows behind the broken door.

Fox gave a heavy sigh as he saw her. "I told you to stay at the Great Fox," he said, though his tone gave off the impression he was glad she was around.

She looked at Bill and back to Fox. "I brought down the Cloud Runner, but it might be difficult to fit us three in there. There are also strange creatures in this place. I can freeze them but the quickly thaw and break out of their encasing…"

"Then we'll just leave as fast as we can," replied Fox, as he slowly approached her, getting within her ear range. "I know this might be weird with how we've been lately…but…just sit on my lap on the Cloud Runner."

She blushed and gave him an incredulous look. "Fox…I."

"Just don't think about it…" He saw her nod slowly as the metroid behind them slowly began to quiver; the noise of the shattering ice growing steadily stronger.

"If you two don't mind," said Bill, "Let's just get out of here before this thing's friends arrive."

The nodded in agreement and quickly rushed down the stairs and onto the Cloud Runner which was hiding behind the pod. As the cockpit opened, another screech was heard from above and two more metroids slowly descended upon them. Ahead of them the frozen metroid had finally broken out of its icy prison, rushing towards them locked inside their arwing.

Fox immediately lifted up the ships force field but was dismayed when he saw the three creatures cling onto the invisible walls, his computer monitor warning that energy was slowly being depleted.

"My God! They're eating the ships power!" he exclaimed as the engines ignited with a loud roar.

The ship slowly hovered above the ground and Fox quickly directed the craft outside the hangar bay, the sunlight pouring in through the green glass. With some difficulty, mostly because Krystal was sitting on his lap, he pulled back on his joystick and allowed the Cloud Runner to ascend, hoping that the effects of the atmosphere would pull the metroids off. The ship slowly became enveloped with fire as they elevated higher, the shields taking a massive drain from the effect, but just as he hoped, the metroids couldn't bear against the massive amount of energy being lashed at them. Two had pulled off their hold and clumsily hovered back down toward the earth below, whereas one was quickly disintegrated.

"Well, looks like we made it after all," Bill said behind them as they slowly approached the Great Fox.

"Yeah," agreed Fox. "Too bad we lost something important along the way."

Krystal sighed and looked outside at the Great Fox as it became larger before them. "At least we're all okay, that's all that matters right now.

"Well, looks like Fox decided to show up after all!" smirked Falco as his face appeared over the console. The avian could see his friend wasn't too thrilled with his lack of space in the Cloud Runner. "Don't worry, Fox. Once the last evacuating ship has made it safely outside the planet, Katt, Slip and I will be heading back."

The vulpine gave a short chuckle. "Sure thing. Once I get these two back, I'll head out and join you guys." Krystal gave him a short disapproving nudge but he ignored her for the meantime.

In the distance four large capital ships rose out of the atmosphere of Corneria, one belonging to Pepper and his crew, the others to the Chancellor, Judge Ricks, and Judge Krasue along with Councilor Cooper. They were followed by several smaller fighter ships as well as a trail of civilian ones, each making a hasty retreat to their respected destinations.

Mahat, through the eyes of Wolf, saw what was happening and smiled, pleased at their quick victory.

"Sir, what do we do about the Cornerians?" asked one of Wallace's men over the radio.

"Just leave them be for now," replied Wolf. "We've won this battle and claimed our just reward. Let the cowards run and spread the tale of how the Pirates took down their planet in a few days."

The answer spread a vast cheer throughout the battlefield as the Cornerian star ships slowly began a retreat and the Pirate frigate slowly approached the planet, greedily ready to take hold of its rightful prize.

It was only two days and a night since their first assault; Corneria had officially fallen.

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Seaso**__**n End: Yami no naka de

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_Note: Hope you guys enjoyed reading! I should really be working on school essays but couldn't help but submit this! , _

_The story has almost reached 1000 hits! I'm so glad XD. Thanks to everyone who has read and responded! Once this week is over I'll start working on __**Season 2: **__**jikan ha dare no mikata. **__Until next time!_


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